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[ I was born in Iowa, August 31, 1862, and in infancy 
became totally blind. During the same year my parents 
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Indiana Institute for the Education of the Blind, from 
which I graduated eight years later. To that institution 
I owe what success I haye achieved. — K. B.] 



THE 



Battle ofTippecanoe 



Historical Sketches 

OF THE 

Famous Field upon which General William Henry 
Harrison Won Renown that Aided Him in 
Reaching the Presidency 

LIVES OF THE PROPHET AND TECUMSEH 

with Many Interesting Incidents 
. of Their Rise and Overthrow . 

/ ' < SIGHT ^ 

THE CAMPAIGN OF iS8^ A »> 1 1881'))/ 



and Election of v - ^sHinGTO*** 



General Benjamin Harriso 



N 



BY/ 

REED BEARD 

author of "Brief Biographies of American Presidents" 



PRICE 50 CENTS 



CHICAGO : 
DONOHUE & HENNEBERRY 

PRINTERS AND BINDERS 
1889 

Ca^O * 

3- ' 



Entered according to Act of Congress, in the Year 1889, by 

REED BEARD 
in the office of the Librarian of Congress, at Washington. 



PREFACE 



Among the earthly spots that mark the rise or fall of some dis- 
tinguished hero, but few are more memorable than the Battle Ground. 
The unpretentious little village which bears its name, should it exist 
until the close of history, can add nothing to the perpetuity already 
vouchsafed the memory of events that transpired there long ago. 

Well nigh a century has passed since the battle of Tippecanoe was 
fought. It wrought immediate and significant changes in the condi- 
tions of races and governments for the period that followed, and those 
results have found favor and appreciation in the public mind. Many 
tributes have been paid the brave men who fell on that field, and the 
American people have recognized the renown won by the heroic 
leader in that fierce fight. He was taken from successful contests on 
the field of battle and elevated to the chief office within the gift of 
man. Affairs of government in which his life performed a potent 
part, fill many chapters of our Country's history. 

Nor does the close of his career mark the end of political events 
that have gathered impulse and power, or grew in sentiment so gener- 
ously supplied from the fountain of cherished annals surrounding the 
name of Tippecanoe. 

The year but recently closed renewed and revived the history of 
that field. Another president will soon preside over the destinies of this 
Republic, whose warmest personal and party friends refer to the Hero 
of Tippecanoe with reverence and pride. 

Reed Beard. 

Lafayette, Ind., February 1, 1889. 



7 



CONTENTS 



Chapteb I — The Prophet 13 

Chapter II — Tecumseh 21 

Chapter III — The Confederacy 25 

Chapter IV — The March to Prophet's Town ... 47 

Chapter V — The Battle 59 

Chapter VI — Incidents of the Battle .... 69 

Chapter VII — Effect of the Battle ..... 75 

Chapter VIII— The Battlefield 85 

Chapter IX — Tippecanoe in Politics . . . . 89 

Chapter X — The Campaign of 1888 .... 97 



S 




ILLUSTRATIONS 

portrait of author Frontispiece 



william henry harrison ....... 12 

the prophet 16 

tecumseh 20 

present site of prophet's town . . . . 30 

Burnett's creek and battle ground, from the west . 38 

plan of the battle ground 58 

prophet's rock and rattle-snake cave .... 68 

meandering run, by which harrison marched out . . 74 

the battle ground, from the northwest ... 86 

a battle-scarred oak . . ..... 92 

BENJAMIN HARRISON ....#.♦, 99 



! 

i 
I 



To 

General Benjamin garrison 
I?resident-elect of tlie Hnited States 
Tliis Volume 
Is Respectfully Dedicated 
by the 

Author 



33 



lattljc of ^ipptmnoz 



CHAPTEE I. 

THE year 1805 is memorable in the annals of Indian 
warfare as the one in which that notorious impostor, 
The Prophet, and his brother Tecumseh, began the form- 
ation of their famous confederacy. These brothers 
were of the Shawnee tribe, which came from Georgia and 
located in Ohio. The Prophet was born about the year 
1771, near Piqua, Ohio, and in early life was known by 
the name of Laulawasikaw, or Loud Yoice. In history 
he is known by various names or forms of the same name, 
such as Olliwachica, Tenskwatawa and Pensquatawa. In 
childhood The Prophet is reported as having displayed no 
evidence of superior mental endowment. It was not until 
1805, after the death of the aged prophet of the Shaw- 
nees (Penegashega, or The Change of Eeathers) that he 
laid claim to supernatural power. His doctrines were 
first expounded in November of that year to an assembly 
of Indians on the Auglaize river, Ohio. The meeting was 
composed of representatives of the Senecas, Wyandottes, 
Ottawas and Shawnees. 

In the religion taught by The Prophet were found 
many virtues, gained for the most part by contact with 
white travelers, and adulterated with Indian superstition. 

13 



THE BATTLE OF TIPPECANOE. 



He insisted upon temperance, preaching total abstinence 
from intoxicants. He taught reverence for old age and 
sympathy for the weak and infirm. He condemned the 
intermarriage of different races and believed that the In- 
dians should adhere to their own customs of living, espe- 
cially in dress. The weak and superstitious character of 
a great majority of Indian minds made it possible for The 
Prophet to exert a great influence in his own and many 
kindred tribes by means of his religious pretensions. He 
claimed his will to be supreme, and whoever controverted 
it endangered themselves. Many lives were thus sacri- 
ficed. The poAver of the brothers in their own tribe was 
opposed by the venerable chief, Black Hoof, who through- 
out his life had frequently observed the folly of Indians go- 
ing to war with white men. This chief had been present at 
Braddock's defeat, 1755, in the old French and Indian 
"War, and had learned many lessons in his long life of 
eventful experience. He died in 1813, having reached 
the remarkable age of 110 years. 

Throughout the year 1806 The Prophet continued his 
residence at Greenville, Ohio, and in 1807, with Tecumseh, 
gathered several hundred of his followers there, engaging 
in the practice of superstitious rites. This large body of 
Indians had the effect to alarm the white settlers of that 
neighborhood; and as the Indians were occupying lands 
ceded by them to the United States government in 1795, 
the governor of Ohio sent commissioners to inquire 
their reasons for so doing and request them to quit the 
place. To these agents the Indians replied that they 
were there in obedience to the command of the Great 
Spirit. 

Toward the close of the year 1807, The Prophet 
extended his religion to the Chippewa Indians of the 
upper peninsula of Michigan, a tribe made famous by 



THE PROPHET. 



15 



Longfellow in his poem entitled " Hiawatha." The for- 
malities of his doctrine were observed with zeal for a time 
by these Indians, but were subsequently abandoned. 

Proselytes from many tribes continued to visit The 
Prophet at Greenville, Ohio, and his teachings were 
received with much favor. To overthrow the false claims 
of The Prophet and disestablish the supremacy he had 
attained over his followers, Gen. William Henry Harrison 
sent the following letter to these Indians, urging them to 
test the power of the great pretender and thus escape the 
imposture and circumvention of his leadership : 

" My children : My heart is filled with grief and my 
eyes are dissolved in tears at the news which has reached 
me. You have been celebrated for your wisdom above 
all the tribes of the red people who inhabit this great 
island. Your fame as warriors has extended to the re- 
motest nations, and the wisdom of your chiefs has gained 
you the appellation of grandfathers from all the neighbor- 
ing tribes. From what cause, then, does it proceed that 
you have departed from the wise counsel of your fathers, 
and covered yourselves with guilt ? My children, tread 
back the steps you have taken, and endeavor to regain the 
straight road you have abandoned. The dark, crooked 
and thorny one which you are now pursuing will certainly 
lead to endless woe and misery. But who is this pretended 
prophet who dares to speak in the name of the great Cre- 
ator? Examine him. Is he more wise and virtuous than 
you are yourselves, that he should be selected to convey to 
you the orders of your God? Demand of him some 
proof at least of his being the messenger of the Deity. If 
God has really employed him, He has doubtless authorized 
him to perform miracles that he may be known and re- 
ceived as a prophet. If he is really a prophet, ask him to 
cause the sun to stand still,or the moon to alter its courses, 



THE PROPHET. 



TEE PROPHET. 



17 



the river to cease to flow or the dead to rise from their 
graves. If he does these things you may believe that he 
is sent from God. He tells you that the Great Spirit 
commands you to punish with death those who deal in 
magic, and that he is authorized to point them out. 
Wretched delusion ! Is, then, the Master of Life com- 
pelled to employ mortal man to punish those who offend 
Him? Has He not the thunder and the power of nature 
at His command ? And could not He sweep away from 
the earth the whole nation at one motion of His arm ? My 
children, do not believe that the great and good Creator 
has directed you to destroy your own flesh, and do not 
doubt that if you pursue this abominable wickedness, His 
vengeance will overtake you and crush you. 

"The above is addressed to you in the name of the 
Seventeen Fires. I now speak to you from myself, as a 
friend who wishes you nothing more sincerely than to see 
you prosperous and happy. Clear your eyes, I beseech 
you, from the mist which surrounds them. No longer be 
imposed upon by the arts of an impostor. Drive him 
from your town and let peace and harmony prevail 
amongst you. Let your poor old men and women sleep 
in quietness, and banish from their minds the dreadful 
idea of being burnt alive by their own friends and coun- 
trymen. I charge you to stop your bloody career, and 
if you value the friendship of your great father, the pres- 
ident, if you wish to preserve the good opinion of the 
Seventeen Fires, let me hear by the return of the bearer 
that you are determined to follow my advice." 

By " Seventeen Fires," the Indians meant the seven- 
teen States (or council fires, in the Indian method of 
speaking) which composed the Union at that time. 

President Jefferson afterward wrote to President 
Adams the following concerning The Prophet : 



18 TBE BATTLE OF TIPPECANOE. 

" The Wabash Prophet is more rogue than fool, if 
to be a rogue is not the greatest of all follies. He 
arose to notice while I was in the administration, and 
became, of course, a proper subject for me. The inquiry 
was made with diligence. His declared object was the 
reformation of red brethren, and their return to their 
pristine manners of living. He pretended to be m con- 
stant communication with the Good Spirit; that he was 
instructed by Him to make known to the Indians that 
they were created distinct from the whites, of 
different natures, for different purposes, and placed 
under different circumstances adapted to their nature 
and destinies ; that they must return from all the 
ways of the whites to the habits and opinions of their 
forefathers; that they must not eat the flesh of 
ho«n>, of bullocks, of sheep, etc., the deer and the 
buffalo having been created for their food ; they must 
not make bread of wheat, but of Indian corn ; they must 
not wear linen nor woolen, but must dress like their 
fathers, in the skins and furs of animals ; they must not 
drink and I do not know whether he extended his inhi- 
bition to the use of the gun and gunpowder, m favor 
of the bow and arrow. I concluded from all this that 
he was a visionary, enveloped in their antiquities, and 
vainly endeavoring to lead back his brethren to the 
fancied beatitudes of their golden age. I thought there 
was little danger of his making many proselytes from 
the habits and comforts they had learned from the 
whites, to the hardships and privations of savageism, and 
no great harm if he did. But his followers increased 
until the British thought him worth corrupting and 
found him corruptible. I suppose his views were then 
changed; but his proceedings in consequence of them 
were after I left the administration, and are, therefore, 



THE PROPHET. 



19- 



unknown to me ; nor have I been informed what were the 
particular acts on his part which produced an actual com- 
mencement of hostilities on ours. I have no doubt, how- 
ever, that the subsequent proceedings are but a chapter 
apart, like that of Henry and Lord Liverpool in the book 
of the Kings of England," - 




TECUMSEH. 



CHAPTER II. 



TECUMSEH was born on Mad river, in Clark county, 
Ohio, 1768. He was the fourth of a family of seven 
children, consisting of six sons and one daughter. 
His father, Puckeshinwau, a chief of remarkable ability, 
lost his life in the battle of Kanawha, 1774. His mother 
Methoataske, was also an Indian of exceptional mental 
power. His father was of the Kiscopoke, and his mother 
of the Turtle tribe of the Shawnee nation, and he, there- 
fore, a full-blooded Indian. The education of Tecumseh 
devolved upon an elder brother, who sought to store his 
mind with a great love for the truth and contempt for 
wrong. He excelled all his fellows in the use of the bow 
and arrow, and in many ways exerted a great influence 
over the youth of his tribe. 

The first warlike movement in which Tecumseh par- 
ticipated was about the year 1783. It was an attack made 
upon some flatboats in the Ohio river, near Limestone. 
All the boatmen were killed except one, who was taken 
prisoner and burned to death. This terrible scene of 
human destruction so impressed Tecumseh's mind with 
the cruelty of this method of Indian warfare that he re- 
solved never to burn a prisoner. It is believed that he 
always kept that resolution inviolate. While yet a young 
man, Tecumseh spent two years among the Cherokee 
nations of the South, returning home in 1790, shortly after 
the defeat of Harmar's expedition. From that time until 

21 



THE BATTLE OF TIPPECANOE. 



the treaty of Greenville, 1795, he participated in many 
skirmishes with the whites, displaying remarkable cool- 
ness and good judgment in the command of his men. He 
led the Shawnee Indians in the battle near the rapids of 
the Maumee, August, 1794. Though the Indian forces 
were disastrously defeated by General Wayne in this 
engagement, Tecumseh's followers fought with great valor. 
It was in this fight that General Harrison and Tecumseh 
first met in battle. The valor and bravery displayed then 
by these heroes of the battlefield was indicative of their 
future military renown. Tecumseh refused to attend the 
meeting of chiefs who negotiated the treaty of Greenville, 
August 3, 1795, and always opposed the enforcement of 
its provisions. 

In the spring of 1797, Tecumseh changed his abode 
from Urbana and Piqua to the headquarters of White 
Water river. The following year he accepted an invita- 
tion to join the Delawares, who resided along the White 
river in Indiana. 

In 1805 Tecumseh and his followers joined some frag- 
ments of their tribe near the source of the Auglaize, Ohio. 
At a council in Greenville, held in 1807, Tecumseh ex- 
pressed great dissatisfaction with the treaty of 1795. 

In the spring of 1808, the Kickapoos and Pottawato- 
mies invited Tecumseh and The Prophet to locate in their 
country at the junction of the Tippecanoe and Wabash 
rivers. This invitation they accepted, and the Indians 
journeyed thither and built the town of Tippecanoe, com- 
monly known as Prophet's Town. This place was of 
great importance, it being the abiding place of The 
Prophet and headquarters of the confederacy he and 
Tecumseh strove to create. About this time Tecumseh's 
plan of forming a confederacy of the tribes of the North- 
west, and attacking the white settlers, began to be appar- 



TEGUM8EH. 



23 



ent. The idea of a confederation of the Indian tribes in a 
vain attempt to check the progressive strides of civiliza- 
tion to the west was not original with Tecumseh. It 
had been nurtured as the favorite hope of Pontiac, Little 
Turtle and other leading spirits of the Indian race. Their 
object was the accomplishment of one purpose — to stay the 
advance and spread of white settlements. Tecumseh' s 
plans were far-reaching. He sought to build a vast In- 
dian empire in the wilderness, with himself at its head. 
The Prophet and his superstitious religion were used as 
tools by Tecumseh. Although The Prophet appeared for 
some time the greater, his popularity was made to serve 
the ambitious political purposes of his intellectual and 
sagacious brother, who promulgated a new political doc- 
trine among the Indians. Tecumseh insisted that the 
Indians were one people, and claimed that no tribe could, 
without consent of others, make a valid transfer of lands. 
He journeyed from tribe to tribe for several years, labor- 
ing with Indians of all sections to secure their coopera- 
tion in his great work. 

Tecumseh was daring and far-seeing — a sagacious and 
able orator, a remarkable military chief and a successful 
negotiator. He was an enthusiastic leader and very pro- 
ductive of expedient. There was an instinct of hatred for 
the white man in his heart, which he nurtured and culti- 
vated. He had sworn eternal vengeance against the 
white race. Particularly qualified in that sort of tact 
which distinguishes the artful politician, he appealed with 
great suavity and success to the people, referred artfully 
to topics which awakened the spirit of vanity and pride 
and a desire for plunder. Although some of the more 
conservative chiefs, through policy, were reluctant to join 
him, and many of the old men objected to engaging in a 
contest that would stop their annuities and awaken the 



THE BATTLE OF TIPPECANOE. 



revenge of the United States, the young warriors eagerly 
Jistened to his schemes and were desirous of joining his 
confederacy. The thoughtless, the daring and the intem- 
perate elements of the native towns rallied in support of 
his plans. 

Although artful, revengeful and full of cunning, Te- 
cumseh possessed many noble traits. The Prophet had 
but little to commend him. He was crafty, haughty and 
unscrupulous. He was lazy and licentious, and under a 
variety of excuses extorted his maintenance from the 
Indians. A combination of circumstances gave him an 
ascendancy over the native tribes altogether dispropor- 
tionate to his ability. He was an abler orator than Te- 
cumseh, and it is said was the most graceful of all Indians, 
but he never spoke while in council with Tecumseh, so 
great was the sway Tecumseh held over him. The idea 
of ruling the Indians by a supposed mediator between 
them and God, in all probability had its origin in Tecum- 
seh's fertile mind. 



* 

CHAPTER III. 



FTER the arrival of the brothers at their new home 



on the Wabash, Governor Harrison sent a letter to 



the Indians, which was read in the presence of The 
Prophet. He said: "My children, this business must be 
stopped ; I will no longer suffer it. You have called a 
number of men from the most distant tribes to listen to a 
fool who speaks not the words of the Great Spirit, but of 
the devil and the British agents. My children, your 
conduct has much alarmed the white settlers near you. 
They desire that you shall send away those people. If 
they wish to have that impostor with them they can carry 
him along with them. Let him go to the lakes, he can 
hear the British more distinctly." 

In August, 1808, The Prophet visited Governor Harri. 
son at Vincennes, where he remained a considerable length 
of time, his object being to converse with Harrison. In 
the course of these interviews The Prophet impressed the 
governor that he was honest in his intentions, but ere long 
the general came to regard him again as crafty, cunning 
and unreliable. He came to the conclusion that The 
Prophet and Tecumseh were plotting against the United 
States government, and in the event of a war with Eng- 
land they would exert their influence toward forming an 
alliance of the Indians. 

In one of his interviews The Prophet spoke to Gov- 
ernor Harrison as follows : 

25 




£6 



THE BATTLE OF TIPPECANOE. 



" It is three years since I first began that system of 
religion I now practice. The white people and some of 
the Indians were against me, but 1 had no other inten- 
tion but to introduce among the Indians those good prin- 
ciples of religion which the white people profess. I was 
spoken of badly by the white people, who reproached me 
with misleading the Indians, but I defy them to say that 
I did anything amiss. 

" Father, I was told you intended to hang me. When 
I heard this I intended to remember it and tell my father 
when I went to see him, and relate to him the truth. 

" I heard when I settled on the Wabash, that my father, 
the governor, had declared that all the land between Yin- 
cennes and Fort Wayne was the property of the Seven- 
teen Fires. I heard also that you wanted to know, my 
father, whether I was God or man ; and that you said if 
I was the former I should not steal horses. I heard this 
from Mr. Wells, but I believed it originated with himself. 

" The Great Spirit told me to tell the Indians that He 
had made them, and made the world — that He had placed 
them on it to do good and not evil. 

" I told all of the redskins that the way they were in 
was not good, and they should abandon it. 

" That we ought to consider ourselves as one man, but 
we ought to live agreeably to our several customs, the red 
people after their mode and the white people after theirs ; 
particularly that they should not drink whisky ; that it 
was not made for them, but for the white people who 
knew how to use it, and that it is the cause of all the mis- 
chief the Indians suffer, and that they must listen to Him, 
as it was He that made us. Determine to listen to nothing 
that is bad, do not take up the tomahawk should it be 
offered by the British or by the Long Knives; do not 
meddle with anything that does not belong to you, but 



THE CONFEDERACY. 



27 



mind your own business and cultivate the ground, that 
your women and children may have enough to live on. 

" I now inform you that it is our intention to live in 
peace with our father and his people forever. 

" My father, I have informed you what we mean to 
do, and I call the Great Spirit to witness the truth of my 
declaration. The religion which I have established for 
the last three years has been attended by all the different 
tribes of the Indians in this part of the world. Those 
Indians were once different people ; they are now but one ; 
they are all determined to practice what I have commu- 
nicated to them, that has come immediately from the 
Great Spirit through me. 

" Brothers, I speak to you as a warrior. You are one. 
But let us lay aside this character and attend to the care 
of our children, that they may live in comfort and peace. 
We desire that you will join us for the preservation of 
both red and white people. Formerly, when we lived in 
ignorance, we were foolish ; but now, since we listen to 
the voice of the Great Spirit, we are happy. 

"I have listened to what you have said to us. You 
have promised to assist us. I now request you, in behalf 
of all the red people, to use your exertion to prevent the 
sale of liquor to us. We are all pleased to hear you say 
that you will endeavor to promote our happiness. We 
give you every assurance that we will follow the dictates 
of the Great Spirit. 

" We are well pleased with the attention you have 
shown us, also with the good intentions -of our father, the 
president. If you give us a few articles, such as needles, 
flints, hoes, powder, etc., we will take the animals that 
afford us meat with powder and ball." 

The position of Governor Harrison was one of great 
responsibility. He was charged with the protection of the 



THE BATTLE OF TIPPECANOE. 



pioneer settlers. The administrations of Presidents Adams, 
J eff erson and Madison had instructed him to use concilia- 
tory means, and avoid, if possible, a recourse to arms. At 
many times, when the whites were nominally at peace 
with the tribes, some lawless Indians would, contrary to 
the wishes of the great majority of their people, invade 
the settlements, murder or plunder the inhabitants, and 
burn their buildings. These depredations led to retalia- 
tion from the whites, who were frequently in the wrong. 
Besides these difficulties, British emissaries were con- 
stantly at work for several years prior to the War of 1812, 
in anticipation of that struggle, creating an ill feeling 
among them toward the United States. Such was the 
speech of Colonel McKee in 1804. " My children," said 
he, " it is true that the Americans do not wish you to 
drink any spirituous liquors, and therefore have told their 
traders that they should not carry any liquor into your 
country, but, my children, they have no right to, say 
that one of your father's traders (that is, the British 
traders) should carry no liquor among his children. My 
children, your father, King George, loves his red chil- 
dren, and wishes his red children supplied with every- 
thing they want. He is not like the Americans, who are 
continually blinding your eyes, and stopping your ears 
with good words, that taste sweet as sugar, and getting 
all your lands from you." 

On a similar occasion, in 1805, he again said to them : 
" My children, there is a powerful enemy of yours to the 
east, now on his feet, and looks mad at you, therefore 
you must be on your guard ; keep your weapons of war 
in your hands, and have a lookout for him." 

In 1809 Governor Harrison negotiated a treaty with 
the Delaware, Miami and Pottawatomie Indians by which a 
tract of land extending on each side of the Wabash to a 



THE CONFEDERACY. 



point sixty miles north of Yincennes was sold to the Gov- 
ernment. Tecumseh was absent when this treaty was 
made. The Prophet gave no opposition. When Tecum- 
seh returned home he affected great dissatisfaction with 
the sale, and threatened some of the chiefs who had con- 
sented to it with death. 

He claimed that these tribes could not make a valid 
transfer of land without the consent of all the chiefs. 

In July, 1810, Governor Harrison sent a letter to The 
Prophet at Tippecanoe, the object of which was to point out 
the folly of his conduct and give him assurance of the 
friendly intentions of the United States government. 
In this communication he said : 

" What reason have you to complain of the United ' 
States? Have they taken anything from you? Have 
they ever violated the treaties made with the red men ? 
You say they have purchased land from those who had 
no right to sell. Show the truth of this and the land will 
be instantly restored. Show us the rightful owners of 
those lands which have been purchased. Let them pre- 
sent themselves. The ears of your father will be open to 
their complaints, and, if any lands have been purchased 
from those who did not own them, they will be restored 
to their rightful owners. I have full power to arrange 
this business. But if you would rather carry your com- 
plaints before your great father, the president, you shall 
be indulged. I will instantly take the means to send you, 
and three chiefs, to be chosen by you, to the city w T here 
your father lives. Everything necessary shall be pre- 
pared for your journey, and means taken to insure your 
safe return." 

The reception of Joseph Barron, the bearer of this let- 
ter, was somewhat remarkable. He was ushered into the 
presence of The Prophet and made to stand at a distance 



PRESENT SITE OF PROPHET'S TOWN. 



THE CONFEDERACY. 



31 



of ten or twelve feet from him for a considerable time 
before The Prophet, though he knew him well, uttered a 
word. He then inquired, contemptuously, upon what 
errand he came. He said : " Brouillette was here ; he was 
a spy. Dubois was here ; he was a spy. E~ow you have 
come. You, too, are a spy. There is your grave ! look 
on it! The Prophet then pointed to the ground near 
where Barron stood. Tecumseh presently entered and 
assured Mr. Barron that his life was in no danger. 

The contents of Governor Harrison's letter was then 
made known. Tecumseh statea that he would visit the 
governor at Vmcennes within a short time, and would then 
reply in person to his message. Governor Harrison, fear- 
ing that treachery might be meditated by Tecumseh, re- 
quested that when on his visit he should be accompanied 
by but few warriors. Contrary to this request, Tecumseh 
took with him seventy-five well armed men. He reached 
Yincennes on the 12th of August, where he remained until 
the 22d, holding frequent interviews with the governor. 
In a speech delivered at the opening of these councils he 
said : 

" I have made myself what I am, and I would that I 
could make the red people as great as the conceptions of 
my mind, when I think of the Great Spirit that rules 
over all. I would not then come to Governor Harrison 
to ask him to tear the treaty, but I would say to him, 
brother, you have liberty to return to your own country. 
Once there were no white men in all this country ; then it 
belonged to red men, children of the same parents, placed 
on it by the Great Spirit, to keep it, to travel over it, to 
eat its fruits, and fill it with the same race — once a happy 
race, but now made miserable by the white people, who 
are never contented, but always encroaching. They 
have driven us from the great salt water, forced us 



32 



THE BATTLE OF TIPPECANOE. 



over the mountains, and would shortly push us into 
the lakes — but we are determined to go no farther. 
The only way to stop this evil is for all the red men to 
unite in claiming a common and equal right in the land, 
as it was at first, and should be now — for it never was 
divided, but belongs to all. No tribe has a right to sell, 
even to each other, much less to strangers, who demand 
all, and will take no less. The white people have no right 
to take the land from the Indians, who had it first ; it is 
theirs. They may sell, but all must join. Any sale not 
made by all is not good. The late sale is bad— it was 
made by a part only. Part do not know how to sell. It 
requires all to make a bargain for all." 

Governor Harrison, in his reply, said: "The white 
people, when they arrived upon this continent, had found 
the Miamis in the occupation of all the country of the 
^Vabash, and at that time the Shawnees were residents of 
Georgia, from which they were driven by the Creeks ; that 
the lands had been purchased from the Miarnis, who were 
the true and original owners of it ; that it was ridiculous to 
assert that all the Indians were one nation, for if such 
had been the intention of the Great Spirit, He would not 
have put six different tongues in their heads, but would 
have taught them all to speak one language; that the 
Miamis had found it for their interest to sell a part of 
their lands, and receive for them a further annuity, in ad- 
dition to what they had long enjoyed, and the benefit of 
which they had experienced, from the punctuality with 
which the Seventeen Fires complied with their engage-- 
ments, and that the Shawnees had no right to come from 
a distant country to control the Miamis in the disposal of 
their own property." 

In a speech delivered on the 20th of August, which 
was written down by order of Governor Harrison, 
Tecumseh said: 



THE CONFEDERACY. 



33 



"Brothers, I wish you to listen to me well. As I 
think that you do not clearly understand what I before 
said to you, I will explain it again. 

" Brothers, since the peace was made, you have killed 
some of the Shawnees, Winnebagoes, Delawares and 
Miamis, and you have taken our land from us, and I do 
not see how we can remain at peace if you continue to 
do so. You try to force the red people to do some 
injury. It is you that is pushing them on to do mischief. 
You endeavor to make distinctions. You wish to pre- 
vent the Indians doing as we wish them — to unite, and let 
them consider the lands as the common property of the 
whole. You take tribes aside and advise them not to 
come into this measure ; and, until our design is accom- 
plished, we do not wish to accept of your invitation to 
go and see the president. 

" The reason I tell you this, you want, by your distinc. 
tions of Indian tribes, in allotting to each a particular 
tract of land, to make them war with each other. You 
never see an Indian come and endeavor to make the 
white people do so. You are continually driving the red 
people ; when, at last you will drive them into the Great 
Lakes where they can't either stand or walk. 

"Brother, you ought to know what you are doing 
with the Indians. Perhaps it is by direction of the 
president to make those distinctions. It is a very bad 
thing and we do not like it. Since my residence at Tip- 
pecanoe, we have endeavored to level all distinctions— to 
destroy village chiefs, by whom mischief is done. It is 
they who sell our lands to the Americans. Our object is 
to let our affairs be transacted by warriors. 

" Brothers, this land that was sold and the goods that 
were given for it was only done by a few. The treaty 
was brought here, and the Weas were induced to give 



S4 THE BATTLE OF TIPPECANOE. 

their consent to it because of their small numbers. The 
treaty of Fort Wayne was made through the treats of 
Winnemac, but in the future we are prepared to punish 
those chiefs who may come forward to propose to sell the 
land. If you continue to purchase of them, it will pro- 
duce war among the different tribes, and at last I do not 
know what will be the consequence to the white people. 

" Brother, I Avas glad to hear your speech. You said 
that if we could show that the land was sold by people 
who had no right to sell, you would restore it. Those 
that did sell did not own it. It was me. These tribes 
set up a claim, but the tribes with me will not agree with 
their claims. If the land is not restored to us you will 
see, when we return to our homes, how it will be settled. 
We shall have a great council, at which all the tribes will 
be present, when we shall show to those who sold that 
they had no right to the claim they set up. We will see what 
will be done to those chiefs that did sell the land to you. 
I am not alone in this determination. It is the determina- 
tion of all the warriors and red people that listen to me. I 
now wish you to listen to me. If you do not, it will appear 
that you wished me to kill all the chiefs that sold you the 
land. I tell you so because I am authorized by all the 
tribes to do so. I am the head of them all ; I am a war- 
rior, and all the warriors will meet together in two or 
three moons from this; then I shall call for those chiefs 
that sold you the land and shall know what to do with 
them. 

" Brother, I do not believe I came here to get presents 
from you. If you offer us any we will not take them. By 
taking goods from you you will hereafter say that with 
them you purchased another piece of land from us. * * 
* * It has been the object of both myself and brother 
to prevent the lands being sold. Should you not return 



THE CONFEDERACY. 



35 



the land it will occasion us to call a great council that will 
meet at the Huron village, and those who sold the land 
shall be called and shall suffer for their conduct. 

" Brother, I wish you would take pity on the red 
people and do what I have requested. If you will not 
give up the land, and do cross the boundary of your pres- 
ent settlement, it will be very hard and cause great trouble 
among us. How can we have confidence in the white 
people ? When Jesus Christ came on earth you killed Him 
and nailed Him on a cross. You thought He was dead, but 
you were mistaken. You have Shakers among you, and 
you laugh and make light of their worship. Everything 
I have said to you is the truth. The Great Spirit has 
inspired me, and I speak nothing but the truth to you. 
* * * Brother, I hope you will confess that you ought 
not to have listened to those bad birds who bring you bad 
news. I have declared myself freely to you, and if any 
explanation should be required from our town, send a man 
who can speak to us. If you think proper to give us any 
presents, and we can be convinced that they are given 
through friendship, we will accept them. As we intend 
to hold our council at the Huron village, which is near the 
British, we may probably make them a visit. Should 
they offer us any presents of goods we will not take them. 
Should they offer us powder and the tomahawk we will 
take the powder and refuse the tomahawk. I wish you, 
brother, to consider everything I have said as true, and 
that it is the sentiment of all the red people that listen to 
me." 

At the close of Tecumseh's address, Governor Harri- 
son commenced a reply. He was speaking of the justice 
with which the United States government had treated the 
most insignificant tribes, when he was interrupted by 
Tecumseh, who, in an angry manner and with violent ges- 
ticulations, denounced his assertions as untrue. 



36 TEE BATTLE OF TIPPECANOE. 

When he commenced, a number of Indians sprang to 
their feet, armed with war clubs and tomahawks. The 
governor did not understand the Shawnee tongue, and was 
unable to tell what Tecumseh was saying until it was 
explained by an interpreter. But General Gibson, the 
secretary of the territory, who understood the Shawnee 
language, was present, and fearing that trouble would 
ensue, ordered Jesse Jennings with his guard of twelve 
men to come up. When Harrison learned what Tecum- 
seh had said, he declared that he would proceed no further, 
but would dismiss the council at once. When an inter- 
preter visited Tecumseh on the following morning, he 
disclaimed any intention of rudeness or insult by his con- 
duct on this occasion. Governor Harrison said: "He also 
told Mr. Barron that he had been informed that the citizens 
here were equally divided — one-half on my side and the 
other on his— one-half opposed to the purchase of lands 
from the Indians, and the other, with me, determined to 
drive the Indians to extremities ; that he had been told 
that I purchased the lands against the consent of the gov- 
ernment, and one-half of the people, who, in fact, did not 
want the land, as they already had more than they could 
use. This he knew to be true, as he had sent some of his 
men to reconnoiter the settlements, and he found that the 
lands toward the Ohio were not settled at all." Governor 
Harrison granted another council which was convened on 
the 21st of August in a grove near his residence. Tecum- 
seh was very polite in his speech and repeated in substance . 
what he had told Mr. Barron in the morning. The gov- 
ernor requested of him a definite answer as to whether or 
not the Kickapoos would accept their annuities, to which 
he replied : " Brother, when you speak of annuities to 
me, I look at the land and pity the women and children. 
I am authorized to say that they will not receive them. 



THE CONFEDERACY. 



SI 



Brother, we want to save that piece of land. We do not 
wish you to take it. It is small enough for our purpose. 
If you do take it, you must blame yourself as the cause of 
trouble between us and the tribes that sold it to you. I 
want the present boundary line to continue. Should you 
cross it, I assure you it will be productive of bad conse- 
quences." 

On the 22d, accompanied only by his interpreter, 
Governor Harrison visited the Indian camp and held a 
long interview with Tecumseh. He told him that his 
claims to the lands in question would never be acknowl- 
edged by the president of the United States. To this 
Tecumseh responded: "Well, as the great chief is to 
determine the matter, I hope the Great Spirit will put 
sense enough into his head to induce him to direct you to 
give up the land. It is true, he is so far off he will not 
be injured by the war. He may sit still in his town, and 
drink his wine, while you and I will have to fight it out." 
After this the council adjourned, and Tecumseh and his 
followers returned to the Indian country. 

Toward the close of May, 1810, a conference was held 
at a place known as " the cow pasture " on the St. Joseph 
river, of Lake Michigan. In this council there were 
representatives of the Dela wares, Pottawatomies, Chippe- 
was, Ottawas and Shawnees. This council, through the 
influence of the Delawares and the friendly Pottawatomie 
chief, Winnemac, refused to join The Prophet's confeder- 
acy. The natural consequence of these disturbances was 
to retard settlement in the Indiana Territory throughout 
the year 1810. Governor Harrison made persistent 
attempts to preserve peace with the various Indian 
tribes. He sent frequent messages to The Prophet at 
Tippecanoe, as well as to the Miami, Pottawatomie and 
Delaware tribes, His ablest spies and messengers were 




BURNETT'S CREEK AND BATTLE GROUND, FROM THE WEST. 



THE CONFEDERACY. 



Touissant, Dubois, Joseph Barron, M. Brouillette, 
Francis Yigo, John Conner, Pierre La Plante and Will- 
iam Prince. Late in the summer a party of Indians 
stole four horses from a settlement in the northern part 
of Knox county. Depredations were also committed on 
the settlements along White river. About September, 
1810, Captain Cross arrived at Yincennes from Newport, 
Ky.,'with a body of troops. These soldiers were in- 
tended, with three companies of militia infantry and a 
company of dragoons, for the purpose of erecting a fort on 
the left bank of the Wabash near the northern boundary 
of the territory acquired by the Government through the 
treaty of Fort Wayne, in 1809. But the erection of this 
fort was postponed until the following year. 

Early in 1811 the British agent of Indian affairs in 
Canada, believing a war between his Government and the 
United States to be inevitable, began, with unusual vigor, 
to stir up discontent with the United States government 
among the Northwestern Indians, that they might be 
made allies of Great Britain. Governor Harrison's instruc- 
tions from Washington advised a conciliatory policy as 
long as such would be consistent with the duty the Gov- 
ernment owed its citizens. The secretary of war intimated 
to Governor Harrison that the surest way of securing 
good conduct from Tecumseh and The Prophet would be 
to make them captives. A Creek Indian at Yincennes 
was mur dered by a white man, and, though put on trial 
for murder, the jury refused to convict. Two Wea In- 
dians were wounded about twenty miles from Yincennes 
by whites, a party of government surveyors were fright- 
ened from their work and a murder committed by Indians 
in the Illinois Territory. In 1810 The Prophet refused 
to accept his annuity of salt, but in the spring of 1811 he 
seized an entire boat load, which was intended for a num- 



A0 THE BATTLE OF TIPPECANOE. 

ber of tribes, and sent word to the governor not to be 
angry at his seizing the salt as he had got none last year 
and had more than 2,000 men to feed. 

In June, 1811, General Harrison sent the following 
speech to Tecumseh, The Prophet and others bv Capt. 
Walter Wilson : 

"Brothers, listen to me : I speak to you about mat- 
ters of importance both to the white people and your- 
selves ; open your ears, therefore, and attend to what I 
shall say. Brothers, this is the third year that all the 
white people in this country have been alarmed at your 
proceedings ; you threaten us with war ; you invite all of 
the tribes to the north and west of you to join against us. 
Brothers, your warriors who have lately been here deny 
this, but I have received information from every direc- 
tion ; the tribes on the Mississippi have sent me word that 
you intended to murder me, and then to commence a war 
upon our people. I have also received the speech you 
sent to the Pottawatomies and others to join you for that 
purpose, but if I had no other evidence of your hostility 
toward us, your seizing the salt I lately sent up the Wabash 
is sufficient. Brothers, our citizens are alarmed, and my 
warriors are preparing themselves, not to strike you, but 
to defend themselves and their women and children. You 
shall not surprise us as you expect to do ; you are about 
to undertake a very rash act. As a friend^, I advise you 
to consider well of it ; a little reflection may save us a 
great deal of trouble and prevent mischief ; it is not yet 
too late. 

" Brothers, what can be the inducement for you to 
undertake an enterprise when there is so little probabil- 
ity of success \ Do you really think that the handful of 
men that you have about you are able to contend with the 
Seventeen Fires, or even that the whole of the tribes 



THE CONFEDERACY. 



41 



united could contend against the Kentucky Fire alone ? 
Brothers, I am myself of the Long Knife Fire [Virginia 
and Kentucky]. As soon as they hear my voice you will 
see them pouring forth their swarms of hunting-shirt men, 
as numerous as the mosquitoes on the shores of the 
Wabash. Brothers, take care of their stings. Brothers, it is 
not our wish to hurt you. If we did we certainly have 
power to do it. Look at the number of our warriors east 
of you, above and below the Great Miami ; to the south 
on both sides of the Ohio, and below you also. You are 
brave men, but what could you do against such a multi- 
tude ? We wish you to live in peace and happiness. 

" Brothers, the citizens of this country are alarmed. 
They must be satisfied that you have no design to do them 
mischief, or they will not lay aside their arms. You have 
also insulted the Government by seizing the salt that was 
intended for other tribes; satisfaction must be given for 
that also. Brothers, you talk of coming to see me, at- 
tended by all your young men ; this, however, must not 
be so. If your intentions are good, you have need to bring 
but a few of your young men with you. I must be plain 
with you ; I will not suffer you to come into our settle- 
ments with such a force. 

" Brothers, if you wish to satisfy us that your intentions 
are good, follow the advice I have given you before ; that 
is, that one or both of you should visit the president of the 
United States and lay your grievances before him. He 
will treat you well, will listen to what you say, and if you 
can show him that you have been injured, you will receive 
justice. If you will follow my advice in this respect, it 
will convince the citizens of this country and myself that 
you have no design to attack them. Brothers, with re- 
spect to the lands that were purchased last fall, I can enter 
into no negotiations with you on that subject ; the affair 



W THE BATTLE OF TIPPECANOE. 

is in the hands of the president. If you wish to go and 
see him, I will supply you with the means. 

" Brothers, the person who delivers this is one of my 
war officers. He is a man in whom I have entire confi- 
dence. "Whatever he says to you, although it may not be 
contained in this paper, you may believe comes from me. 

" My friend Tecumseh, the bearer is a good man and 
a brave warrior. I hope you will treat him well. You 
are yourself a warrior, and all such should have esteem for 
each other." 

Captain Wilson was received by Tecumseh with great 
courtesy. He sent the following reply to Governor Har- 
rison's letter : 

"Brother, I give you a few words, until I will be 
with you myself — Tecumseh. 

" Brother, at Yincennes, I wish you to listen to me 
while I send you a few words ; and I hope that they will 
ease your heart. I know you look on your young men 
and your women and children with pity, to see them so 
much alarmed. Brother, I wish you to now examine 
what you have from me. I hope it will be a satisfaction 
to you, if your intentions are like mine, to wash away all 
these bad stories that have been circulated. I will be with 
you myself in eighteen days from this day. Brother, we 
can not say what will become of us, as the Great Spirit 
has the management of us at His will. I may be there 
before the time, and may not be there until that day. I 
hope that when we come together, all these bad tales will 
be settled. By this I hope your young men, women and 
children, will be easy. I wish you, brother, to let 
them know when I come to Yincennes and see you, all 
will be settled in peace and happiness. Brother, these are 
only a few words to let you know that I will be with you 
myself ; and when I am with you I can inform you better. 



THE CONFEDERACY. Jtf 

Brother, if I find that I can be with you in less than 
eighteen days, I will send one of my young men before 
me, to let you know what time I will be with you." 

On the 27th of July,Tecumseh, with about 300 Indians, 
of whom twenty or thirty were women, arrived at 
Vincennes. When about twenty miles from that place, 
he was intercepted by Captain Wilson, with a message from 
Governor Harrison, in which he complained of the Indians 
approaching his capital with so large a force. Tecumseh 
stated that he had but twenty -four warriors with him, 
and that the remainder of the delegation came voluntarily. 
The appearance of so many Indians alarmed the governor 
and the people of Yincennes. On the day of their arrival 
the governor reviewed the county militia, which consisted 
of about 750 well-armed men, and stationed two companies 
of militia infantry and a detachment of dragoons on the 
borders of the town. Tecumseh made friendly professions 
to Governor Harrison. He disclaimed any intention of 
making war against the United States, and stated his object 
to be simply the formation of a confederacy among the 
Indian tribes. This, he said, had been effected with the In- 
dians of the North, and that he w^as then on his way to ac- 
complish a similar result among the Creeks, Choctaws and 
Chickasaws and other southern Indians. He was opposed 
to the murdering of white settlers by the Indians, and 
advised the various tribes to refrain from such depreda- 
tions. He thought that the whites should forgive the 
past Indian murderers, inasmuch as he had forgiven white 
men guilty of the same offense against the red men. 
Tecumseh's stay at Yincennes was brief. He soon left, 
accompanied by twenty warriors, moving down the 
Wabash on his way to the southern tribes. Many of the 
white people at Yincennes believed that Tecumseh medi- 
tated hostile intentions when he approached their town, 



TEE BATTLE OF TIPPECANOE. 



but abandoned them in view of the large military display 
made under the direction of Governor Harrison. 

In his report to the war department concerning this 
council, Governor Harrison speaks of the implicit obedi- 
ence and respect that the followers of Tecumseh paid to 
him as wonderful. In this letter he says : " If it were 
not for the vicinity of the United States, he would per- 
haps be the founder of an empire that would rival in glory 
Mexico or Peru. No difficulties deter him. For four 
years he has been in constant motion. You see him to- 
day on the Wabash, and in a short time hear of him on 
the shores of Lake Erie or Michigan, or on the banks of 
the Mississippi, and wherever he goes he makes an im- 
pression favorable to his purpose. He is now upon the 
last round to put a finishing stroke upon his work. I 
hope, however, before his return that that part of the 
work which he considered complete will be demolished 
and even its foundation rooted up." 

It seems that, notwithstanding the power of Tecumseh 
over the majority of his adherents was established upon 
their great regard for him, some were conquered by 
fear alone, and the instant Tecumseh had departed from 
their vicinity for the South, they took occasion to express 
their dissatisfaction. 

We have only some fragmental accounts of Tecumseh's 
visit with the Indians of the southern States. He told 
the Creeks that he came more than a thousand miles from 
the borders of Canada to visit their nation, and, if possi- 
ble, influence them to join with the English against the 
Americans, when he should desire them. A midnight 
conference of the chiefs was convened. A powerful 
address was delivered by Tecumseh, and the chiefs unani- 
mously agreed to commence hostilities when he requested 
them. Tecumseh afterward labored with the Indians of 



THE CONFEDERACY. 



Florida, Alabama and Missouri. He moved with a great 
caution in the establishment of his confederacy, and met 
with little opposition in the South. He appealed with 
great eloquence to the superstitions and passions of the 
various Indian tribes. He had told Governor Harrison that 
he would spend nearly a year among the southern Indians 
upon this mission, and on his return would visit the pres- 
ident of the United States and make an amicable settle- 
ment of all difficulties. He requested the governor in 
the meantime to refrain from settling the territory ac- 
quired by the treaty of Fort Wayne. But the governor 
was informed that Tecumseh would be gone but three 
months, and he, therefore, acted with promptness, so 
that when Tecumseh returned to the Wabash with his 
plans completed, he found that his capital had been de- 
stroyed. For some time previous to the battle, the mur- 
derous depredations of the Indians continued to keep the 
white settlers in constant alarm. The people of Yin- 
cennes, in a public meeting held on the 31st of July, 1811, 
requested the general government to afford them mili- 
tary protection. President Madison had, however, on 
the 17th of that month, placed the Fourth Eegiment of 
mounted infantry, commanded by Colonel Boyd, at the 
disposal of Governor Harrison, with orders to proceed 
with caution and if possible avert a general conflict. In 
August, 1811, the governor sent a speech to all the In- 
dian tribes of that locality, demanding the surrender of all 
Indians who were murderers of American citizens. He also 
required of the Miamis that they should prove that they 
were not connected with Tecumseh's confederation. In 
the following month a party of Indians from The Prophet's 
Town visited the governor at his capital, Vincennes, and 
made extravagant professions of friendship toward the 
United States government. But about the same time a 



THE BATTLE OF TIPPECANOE. 



number of horses belonging to settlers were stolen. They 
were tracked to the town of Tippecanoe and were surren- 
dered to the searching company, but were retaken by 
the Indians who appeared to regret that they had deliv- 
ered them to the whites. 



CHAPTER IV. 



gftje fgfcaxttft to groptafs 'gown. 

HARRISON, having lost hopes of a peaceful solution 
of difficulties, determined upon an aggressive 
policy. He resolved to march on The Prophet's 
Town before Tecumseh should return from the South. 
The following are some of the orders given by General 
Harrison before his army moved from Vincennes : 

" Headquarters, Vincennes, 
16th September, 1811. 
"The governor of the Indiana Territory and com- 
mander-in-chief of the militia, being charged by the 
president of the United States with a military expedi- 
tion, takes command of the troops destined for the same ; 
viz. : The detachment of regular troops under command of 
Col. John P. Boyd (consisting of the Fourth United States 
Regiment of infantry, and a company of the rifle regi- 
ment), the present garrison of Fort Knox, and the various 
detachments of militia, infantry and dragoons which 
have been ordered for this service. As the present garri- 
son of Fort Knox is to form apart of Colonel Boyd's com- 
mand, the officer commanding that post will receive the 
colonel's orders. Captain Piatt, of the Second United 
States Regiment, has been appointed quartermaster for all 
the troops employed on the expedition, and is to be obeyed 
and respected as such. Capt. Robert Buntin is appointed 
quartermaster for the militia, and is to be obeyed and 

47 



THE BATTLE OF TIPPECANOE. 



respected accordingly. Henry Hurst, Esq., and the Hon. 
Waller Taylor, aids-de-camp to the commander-in-chief, 
and, having the rank of majors, are announced as such ; 
all orders coming from them, in his name, whether in writ- 
ing or verbally delivered, are to be respected and obeyed, 
as if delivered by the commander-in-chief in person. 
Captain Piatt is to have the superintendence of persons 
appertaining to the quartermaster's or military agent's 
department, and the direction of all stores destined for 
the use of the expedition." 

" Headquarters, Vincennes, 
21st September, 1811. 
" The commandants of the several infantry corps will 
immediately commence drilling their men to the perform- 
ance of the evolutions, contemplated by the commander- 
in-chief, for the order of march and battle. The principal 
feature in all these evolutions is that of a battalion chang- 
ing its direction by swinging around on its center. This, 
however, is not to be done by wheeling, which for a large 
body, is impracticable in woods. It is to be formed thus : 
The battalion being on its march in a single rank, and its 
center being ascertained, the front division comes to the 
right about, excepting the man in the rear of that division ; 
at the same time the front man of the second division 
takes a position about four feet to the left of the man in 
the rear of the front division, and dresses with him 
in a line at right angles to the line of march, these 
two men acting as guides or markers for the formation of 
the new alignment. At the word 'form the new align- 
ment, march ! ■ the men of the front division, passing in 
succession to the left of their guide and doubling round 
him, form on his right ; the men cf the rear division at 
the same moment filing up in succession to the left of their 
guide, dress in a line with him and the guide of the front 



THE MARCH TO PROPHET'S TO WW. 



division. This movement may be performed by any 
number of men whatever — by a company or platoon as 
well as by a battalion. 

" Joseph Hamilton Daveiss, Esq., has been appointed 
and commissioned major of dragoons in the militia of 
Indiana Territory ; and is appointed to the command of 
all the dragoons employed on the present expedition — 
which, for this purpose, will form one squadron." 

" Headquarters, Yincennes, 
22d September, 1811 

"The whole of the infantry, regulars and militia, is to 
be considered as one brigade, to be under the command 
of Col. John P. Boyd as brigadier-general. Lieutenant- 
colonel Miller will command the first line, composed 
of the whole of the United States troops ; and Lieutenant- 
colonel Bartholomew the second line, composed of the 
whole of the militia infantry ; and these officers will 
report to, and receive their orders from, Colonel Boyd. 
The whole of the cavalry will be under the command of 
Major Daveiss, who will report to, and receive his orders 
from, the commander-in-chief. Captain Spencer's com- 
pany of volunteers will act as a detached corps, and the 
captain will receive his orders from the commander-in- 
chief ; they are received as a company of mounted volun- 
teers. 

" The whole army will parade to-morrow at 1 o'clock ; 
the infantry in two columns of files in single rank. The 
regular troops will form the leading battalions of each 
column ; the militia infantry the rear. The columns 
will be at such a distance from each other that 
when the battalions change their order to one at right 
angles to their order of march their flanks will meet. 
Major Daveiss will place his largest troop of dragoons in a 
squadron at open order 150 yards advanced of the columns 



50 



TEE BATTLE OF TIPPECANOE. 



of infantry, and at right angles to the order of march. 
The next largest troop will be placed in the same form 
and order at 150 yards in rear of the columns. The 
third troop will be placed, in single line, on the right 
flank, at 150 yards from the line of infantry, and parallel 
thereto. Captain Spencer's company will be formed on 
the left flank, in single rank, and in a line parallel to the 
infantry, at a distance of 150 yards from the left column. 

" The army, thus formed, will commence its march — the 
columns taking care to keep their distance and their heads 
dressed. When in the woods the movements will be reg- 
ulated by signals from the drums. The maneuvering on 
to-morrow being on open ground, the sight will be sufficient 
to govern the movements. Upon the word being given 
to 'receive the enemy in front in two lines,' each battal- 
ion (of which there are supposed to be four— two in each 
column) will swing round on its center in the manner 
directed by the general order of the 21st instant. The 
dragoons in front will be supposed to keep the enemy in 
check until the lines are formed, when they will be recalled 
by a signal, which, for the present, will be the retreat. 
The dragoons and mounted riflemen on the flanks and in 
the rear will continue their first positions until ordered 
otherwise. If the second line should be ordered up to form 
on the flank of the first line, the commanding officer will 
order the line to break off by files from the right of 
platoons— the right battalion marching obliquely to the 
right, and the left to the left, and forming, respectively, 
upon the right and left of the front line. At the same 
time the dragoons and mounted riflemen on the flanks will 
incline to the right or left, as the case may be, to give 
room for the infantry to form, and will endeavor to turn 
the flank of the enemy. When the first troop of dragoons 
is called, it wall pass in short columns of files through the 



THE MARCH TO PROPHET 8 TOWM 



62 



intervals of the front line, and form a corps de reserve im- 
mediately in the rear of the front line ; and, upon the 
moving up of the second line of infantry, the rear troop 
of dragoons will move up and join the advanced troop in 
the rear of the first line. The lines of march will be 
formed again in the manner the commander-in-chief shall 
direct. Dr. Blood, having been appointed a surgeon's 
mate, Dr. Foster will employ him in such a manner as will 
be most beneficial to the service." 

" Headquarters, Yincennes, 
22d September, 1811. 
" After Orders. — The army being formed in the order 
of march prescribed by the general order of the day, if an 
attack should be made on the right flank, the whole will 
face to the right, and it will then be in two lines parallel 
to the line of march, the right column forming the front 
line and the left the rear. Should the attack be made on 
the left flank, the reverse of what is here described will 
take place — i. e., the whole army will face to the left, the 
left column acting as the front line, and the right as the 
rear — the same maneuver as is directed for an attack in 
front, with this difference only, that the leading grand 
division of each battalion will form by the filing up of 
each man in succession, and the second grand division by 
doubling round its front guide and displaying to the left. 
To resist an attack in front and rear, the two leading bat- 
talions will perform the maneuver directed for the front 
attack, and the two others that which has been last de- 
scribed. In all cases where there is an attack other than 
a front one, the dragoons and riflemen will consider them- 
selves as front, rear, or flank guards, according to the situ- 
ation they may be placed in, relatively to the rest of the 
army, and perform the duties which those situations re- 
spectively require, as heretofore directed." 



6M THE BATTLE OF TIPPECANOE. 

On the 26th of September, General Harrison, in com- 
mand of this military expedition, left Vincennes. On the 
3d of October he encamped at a point on the east side of 
the Wabash, two miles north of the present site of Terre 
Haute. This place, known by the French settlers as 
Bataille des Illinois, was, according to Indian tradition, 
the scene of a great battle between the Illinois and Iro- 
quois tribes. Here General Harrison erected a fort, which, 
by unanimous request of his commissioned officers, was 
named Fort Harrison. General Harrison sent a message 
to the friendly Delaware chiefs, inviting them to meet 
him on the Wabash. The request was complied with by 
all who were able to march. While on their way to join 
Harrison, the Delaware chiefs were met by some of The 
Prophet's followers and told that the Indians were soon 
to take up arms against the Americans, and requested 
them to join the confederacy, and threatened them with 
punishment if they refused. Sending a message to Har- 
rison to inform him of this, they visited The Prophet. On 
the evening of the 10th of October, a sentinel in Har- 
rison's camp was severely wounded by some Indians who 
fired on him. Governor Harrison had hoped that the 
advance of his army from Yincennes would overawe the 
Indians and avert a conflict. The impression on them, 
though not sufficient for this, was very perceptible. The 
Miami chiefs started to visit him, and the Wea tribe 
declared that they would never join The Prophet. Har- 
rison, being convinced of the warlike intentions of the 
savages, determined to march upon Tippecanoe, desiring, 
if possible, to bring the contest to a close before Tecum- 
seh should return from among the southern Indians. His 
departure from Fort Harrison was delayed because of 
poor arrangements concerning his supply of provisions. 

On the 27th of October, the Delaware chiefs, who 



THE MARCH TO PROPHETS TOWN. 



53 



had visited The Prophet at Tippecanoe, arrived at Fort 
Harrison. They reported to the general the hostile 
preparations of The Prophet. They stated that he 
treated them with great contempt and that he was 
practicing his diabolical rites and holding great war 
dances every night. They stated that the Indians, who 
fired on and wounded the sentinel at Fort Harrison, had 
returned to Tippecanoe, and that they belonged to the 
Shawnee tribe. And that The Prophet had declared his 
intention of burning the first prisoner taken. 

After a conference it was decided to send a deputa- 
tion to The Prophet by the friendly Indian chiefs. The 
governor demanded of The Prophet that all stolen horses 
should be returned to their owners, and that Indian 
murderers of white settlers be delivered up to him, and 
that the Kickapoo, Pottawatomie and Winnebago Indians, 
then at Tippecanoe, should return to their tribes. Fort 
Harrison was completed on the 28th of October, and left 
garrisoned by a few soldiers, the majority of whom were 
invalids, under Lieutenant Miller. 

The army resumed its march for The Prophet's Town 
on the following day. It consisted of about 910 men, 
composed of 250 regular troops, under Col. John P. Boyd \ 
about sixty Kentucky volunteers ; and some 600 volun- 
teers from the Indiana Territory, including companies 
organized at Corydon and Yincennes, and other points 
along the Wabash and Ohio rivers. Of these about 120 
were dragoons. Among the Kentucky volunteers were 
some of that State's most gallant sons, such as Joseph 
Hamilton Daveiss, an eminent lawyer, a man of remark- 
able eloquence and talents ; Gen. Samuel Wells, who had 
rendered valuable service in former Indian wars; Col. 
Abraham Owen, a venerable participant in frontier strug- 
gles ; Colonel Guiger, who organized a small company near 



THE BATTLE OF TIPPECANOE. 



Louisville; in this army also were Croghan, O'Fallon, 
Shipp, Gheem and Edwards, who afterward distinguished 
themselves as officers in the army of the United States. 

The march to Tippecanoe was conducted with great 
caution. There were two routes leading to The Prophet's 
Town in general use by the Indians ; one on each side of 
the Wabash river. The one on the left, or southeast side 
was the shorter, but lay in a wooded country where 
the army would be exposed to ambuscade. The 
route on the right, or northwest side of the Wabash, 
presented less opportunity for such attacks, and was 
therefore preferred by General Harrison, over which to 
conduct his army. In order to deceive the Indians if 
possible, General Harrison caused the road on the south- 
east side of the river to be reconnoitered and opened into a 
wagon road. The army started from Fort Harrison, 
moving up the east bank until it had crossed Big Kac- 
coon creek. But suddenly, on the 31st, he crossed the 
Wabash near the site of the present town of Montezuma, 
Parke county, and took the other trail. On the 2d of 
November, the army built a block-house about twenty-five 
feet square, in a small prairie, at a point on the west bank 
of the Wabash, nearly three miles below the mouth of the 
Big Vermillion river. At this post a guard of eight men 
and a sergeant were stationed for the purpose of protect- 
ing the boats, which up to this place had been used in the 
transportation of supplies. The uncertainty concerning 
the movements of the Indians had been a source of un- 
easiness to General Harrison. Had he been opposed by an 
army similar to his own, it would have been his duty as a 
military commander to have ascertained the situation of 
the enemy and to interpose his force between them and 
the unprotected settlements he left behind him. But, with 
an army of savages, who had no artillery or military sup* 



THE MARCH TO PROPHET'S TOWN. 



55 



plies to carry with them, who could traverse the forests 
without roads, who could dissolve their army organiza- 
tion into single men and reunite at a given point with the 
greatest secrecy and dexterity, the situation was hazard- 
ous. Since Governor Harrison was the civil as well as the 
military head of Indiana Territory, he was charged with 
the responsibility of protecting the women and children 
in the unprotected settlements. The thought that the 
Indian might be stealing his way to murder the defense- 
less inhabitants of Yincennes while he, with all avail- 
able military force of the settlements, was marching 
to attack him in his own stronghold, bore heavily upon 
the governor's mind. He arose one night from his restless 
sleep and ordered Major Jordan of the Indiana volunteers 
to take with him forty picked men and return to Yin- 
cennes. His orders were, in case the army should be 
destroyed, to fortify the courthouse and other public build- 
ings and to dispatch the governor of Kentucky, with the 
utmost speed, for assistance. The army proceeded on its 
march, there being no incident worthy of mention until it 
reached Big Pine creek in Warren county. This stream 
was bordered by high, rocky bluffs, covered by cedar and 
pine trees. The defile through which the army would 
have to pass in going down into and coming up out of 
this stream was long and narrow, and afforded an op- 
portunity where a few men might successfully dispute the 
progress of his entire army. The Indians had twice availed 
themselves of this pass in opposing expeditions sent 
against them. First, in 1786, against an expedition led 
by General Clarke. Secondly, in 1790, against Colonel 
Hamtramck, who led a portion of the American army. 

General Harrison halted and sent forth a reconnoiter- 
ing party to find a crossing where his army would be less 
exposed to attack, A ford ? evidently used by the Indians, 



56 ■ THE BATTLE OF TIPPECANOE. 



was found further up the stream, on the border of a 
prairie country. The beauty of this region, stretching 
away to the northwest, toward the Illinois river, a dis- 
tance of about 100 miles, was viewed by the soldiers 
with great admiration. The Big Pine was crossed in 
safety. No Indians were seen until the army had well 
nigh reached The Prophet's Town. 

On the. night of the 5th of November, the army en- 
camped near the present village of Montmorenci, in the 
western part of Tippecanoe county, about ten miles from 
The Prophet's Town. On the following day the march 
was resumed. Indians were seen lurking about, and the 
interpreters in front of the army were instructed to in- 
terview them. The Indians refused to talk, and replied 
only with defiant gestures. At 2 o'clock in the afternoon 
of the 6th of November, the army arrived within about 
a mile and a half of The Prophet's Town. General Har- 
rison was urged to make an immediate attack. But his 
instructions were to avoid hostilities, if possible, and he 
still hoped for the arrival in his army of the deputation 
of friendly Indians, which he had sent while yet at Fort 
Harrison, concerning whom nothing had been heard or 
seen. General Harrison sent Captain Dubois, accom- 
panied by an interpreter, forward with a flag of truce. 
The Indians refused to converse with him, and endeav- 
ored to cut them off from the army on their return. Har- 
rison determined to encamp for the night, and started in 
search of suitable ground. When he had almost reached 
the town, The Prophet sent forward a deputation of three 
Indians, including his chief counsellor. With much pre- 
tended innocence they inquired why the American army 
had approached so near their town. They disclaimed all 
hostile intentions, and told Harrison that The Prophet had 
sent a pacific message to him by the friendly Indians, who 



THE MARCH TO PROPHET'S TOWN. 



57 



had returned to Fort Harrison by the road on the south- 
east side of the Wabash, and had by that cause failed to 
meet him. It was arranged that General Harrison should 
meet The Prophet on the following day and conclude a 
treaty of peace. He inquired of the Indians for a suita- 
ble camping ground, where the army could have plenty 
of fuel and water. They referred him to a site on a creek 
northwest of the town. Harrison dispatched two of his 
officers, Majors Marston G. Clark and Waller Taylor, to 
inspect this ground. After an examination, they reported 
everything satisfactory, and the army went into camp for 
the night. 



CHAPTEE Y. 



HE camping ground was a spot of high oak land ris- 



on the southeast, and extending to the Indian town. 
The height at the west bank of this tract was much 
greater and overlooked a small prairie, through the edge of 
which, near the border of the camping ground, ran a small 
stream, now known as Burnett's creek. This stream was 
skirted on either side by a dense growth of willow and 
other shrubs. The place was an admirable camping 
ground, but it afforded every facility for a night surprise, 
which was just the kind of an attack meditated by the 
Indians. Such a treacherous spirit no doubt prompted 
their recommendations of the spot to General Harrison. 
To offset this danger, Harrison ordered his army to encamp 
in readiness for battle, the men sleeping upon their arms. 
The front, or southeast, ancl rear lines along the creek were 
guarded by columns of infantry, separated on the north, 
or left flank, by about 150 yards, but at the right, or south 
end, where the ground approached an abrupt point, the 
front and rear lines were but about eighty yards distant. 
This flank occupied a line about 150 yards north of the 
point, and was composed of Captain Spencer's company of 
eighty mounted riflemen. This company was known as 
the Yellow-jackets, because of the color of their uniform. 
The left flank was more exposed and consisted of 120 




marshy prairie fronting it 



60 



THE BATTLE OF TIPPECANOE. 



mounted riflemen, under command of Major-general 
Wells, of the Kentucky volunteers. The front line, facing 
the marshy prairie to the southeast, was composed of 
Major Floyd's battalion of United States infantry, flanked 
on the left and right by two companies. 

The rear line, facing Burnett's creek, was occupied by 
Major Baen's battalion of United States infantry, and 
four companies of militia infantry, commanded by 
Lieutenant-colonel Decker. Two companies of dragoons, 
consisting of sixty men, under command of Major 
Joseph H. Daveiss, occupied a position in the rear of 
the left flank, while Captain Parke, with a larger force, 
was placed to the rear of the front. In case a night 
attack was made, the dragoons were instructed to parade 
dismounted, with pistols in belt, as a reserve corps. 

The following account of the battle of Tippecanoe is 
taken from the official dispatch sent by General Har- 
rison to the secretary of war, on the 18th of November, 
eleven days after the battle : 

" I had risen at a quarter after four o'clock, and the 
signal for calling out the men would have been given in 
two minutes, when the attack commenced. It began on 
the left flank ; but a single gun was fired by the senti- 
nels, or by the guard in that direction, which made not 
the least resistance, but abandoned their officer and fled 
into camp ; and the first notice which the troops of that 
flank had of the danger, was from the yells of the sav- 
ages a short distance from the line ; but, even under these 
circumstances, the men were not wanting to themselves 
or to the occasion. Such of them as were awake, or were 
easily awakened, seized their arms and took their sta- 
tions ; others, which were more tardy, had to contend 
with the enemy in the doors of their tents. The storm 
first fell upon Captain Barton's company, of the Fourth 



THE BATTLE. 



61 



United States Eegiment, and Captain Guiger's company 
of mounted riflemen, which formed the left angle of the 
rear line. The fire upon these was excessively severe, and 
they suffered considerably before relief could be brought 
to them. Some few Indians passed into the encampment 
near the angle, and one or two penetrated to some dis- 
tance before they were killed. I believe all the other 
companies were under arms, and tolerably formed, before 
they were fired on. The morning was dark and cloudy. 
Our fires afforded a partial light, which, if it gave us 
some opportunity of taking our position, was still more 
advantageous to the enemy, affording them the means of 
taking a surer aim. They were, therefore, extinguished as 
soon as possible. 

" Under these discouraging circumstances, the troops 
(nineteen-twentieths of whom had never been in an action 
before) behaved in a manner that can never be too much 
applauded. They took their places without noise, and 
with less confusion than could have been expected from 
veterans placed in a similar situation. As soon as I 
could mount my horse, I rode to the angle that was 
attacked. I found that Barton's company had suffered 
severely, and the left of Guiger's entirely broken. I im- 
mediately ordered Cook's company, and the late Captain 
Wentworth's, under Lieutenant Peters, to be brought up 
from the center of the rear line, where the ground was 
much more defensible, and formed across the angle, in 
support of Barton's and Guiger's. My attention was 
then engaged by a heavy firing upon the left of the front 
line, where were stationed the small company of United 
States riflemen (then, however, armed with muskets), and 
the companies of Baen, Snelling and Prescott, of the 
Fourth Eegiment. 

" I found Major Daveiss forming the dragoons in the 
rear of those companies, and understanding that the 



THE BATTLE OF TIPPECANOE. 



heaviest part of the enemy's fire proceeded from some 
trees about fifteen or twenty paces in front of those com- 
panies, I directed the major to dislodge them with a part 
of the dragoons. Unfortunately, the major's gallantry 
determined him to execute the order with a smaller force 
than was sufficient, which enabled the enemy to avoid 
him in the front and attack his flanks. The major was 
mortally wounded, and his party driven back. The 
Indians were, however, immediately and gallantly dis- 
lodged from their advantageous position, by Captain 
Snelling, at the head of his company. 

" In the course of a few minutes after the commence- 
ment of the attack, the fire extended along the left flank, 
the whole of the front, the right flank and part of the 
rear line. Upon Spencer's mounted riflemen, and the 
right of Warrick's company, which was posted on the right 
of the rear line, it was excessively severe. Captain Spen- 
cer, and his first and second lieutenants, were killed, and 
Captain Warrick mortally wounded. Those companies, 
however, still bravely maintained their posts ; but Spen- 
cer's having suffered so severely, and having originally too 
much ground to occupy, I reinforced them with Eobb's 
company of riflemen, which had been driven, or, by mis- 
take, ordered from their position in the left flank, toward 
the center of the camp, and filled the vacancy that had 
been occupied by Kobb with Prescott's company of the 
Fourth United States Kegiment. My great object was to 
keep the lines entire— to prevent the enemy from breaking 
into the camp, until daylight should enable me to make 
a general and effectual charge. With this view I had re- 
inforced every part of the line that had suffered much ; 
and as soon as the approach of morning discovered itself, 
I withdrew from the front line Snelling's, Posey's (under 
Lieutenant Allbright) and Scott's, and from the rear line 



THE BATTLE. 



63 



Wilson's companies, and drew them up upon the left 
flank ; and, at the same time, I ordered Cook's and Baen's 
companies — the former from the rear, and the latter from 
the front line — to reinforce the right flank, foreseeing 
that, at these points, the enemy would make their last 
efforts. Major Wells, who commanded on the left flank, 
not knowing my intentions precisely, had taken the com- 
mand of these companies — had charged the enemy be- 
fore I had formed the body of dragoons with which I 
meant to support the infantry ; a small, detachment of 
these were, however, ready, and proved amply sufficient 
for the purpose. The Indians were driven bv the in- 
fantry at the point of the bayonet, and the dragoons pur- 
sued and forced them into a marsh, where they could not 
be followed. Captain Cook and Lieutenant Larrabee 
had, agreeably to my order, marched their companies to 
the right flank and formed them under fire of the enemy; 
and, being then joined by the riflemen of that flank, had 
charged the Indians, killed a number, and put the rest to 
precipitate flight. 

" The whole of the infantry formed a brigade, under the 
immediate orders of Colonel Boyd. The colonel, through- 
out the action, manifested equal zeal and braverv in 
carrying into execution my orders — in keeping the men 
to their posts, and exhorting them to fight with 
valor. His brigade-major, Clarke, and his aid-de-camp, 
George Croghan, Esq., were also very serviceably em- 
ployed. Colonel Joseph Bartholomew, a very valuable 
officer, commanded, under Colonel Boyd, the militia infan- 
try. He was wounded early in the action, and his ser- 
vices lost to me. ,Maj. G. E. C. Floyd, the senior officer, 
of the Fourth United States Kegiment, commanded im- 
mediately the battalion of that regiment, which was in the 
front line. His conduct, during the action, was entirely 



TEE BATTLE OF TIPPECANOE. 



to my satisfaction. Lieutenant-colonel Decker, who com- 
manded the battalion of militia on the right of the rear 
line, preserved his command in good order. He was, 
however, but partially attacked. I have before mentioned 
to you that Major-general Wells, of the Fourth Division of 
Kentucky Militia, acted, under my command, as a major, 
at the head of two companies of mounted volunteers. 
The general retained the fame which he had already ac- 
quired in almost every campaign, and in almost every 
battle which has been fought with the Indians since the 
settlement of Kentucky. Of the several corps, the Fourth 
United States Eegiment, and the two small companies 
attached to it, were certainly the most conspicuous for 
undaunted valor. The companies commanded by Captains 
Cook, Snelling and Barton ; Lieutenants Larrabee, Peters 
and Hawkins, were placed in situations where they could 
render most service, and encounter most danger; and 
those officers eminently distinguished themselves. Cap- 
tains Prescott and Brown performed their duty, also, en- 
tirely to my satisfaction, as did Posey's company of the 
Seventh Regiment, headed by Lieutenant Allbright. In 
short, sir, they supported the fame of American regulars ; 
and I have never heard that a single individual was found 
out of the line of his duty. 

" Several of the militia companies were in no wise in- 
ferior to the regulars. Spencer's, Guiger'sand "Warrick's 
maintained their posts amid a monstrous carnage— as, 
indeed, did Robb's, after it was posted on the left flank. 
Its loss of men (seventeen killed and wounded), and 
keeping its ground, is sufficient evidence of its firmness. 
Wilson's and Scott's companies charged with the regular 
troops, and proved themselves worthy of doing so. JSTor- 
ris' company also behaved well. Hargrove's and Wil- 
kin's companies were placed in a situation where they 



THE BATTLE. 



65 



had no opportunity of distinguishing themselves, or, I am 
satisfied, they would have done it. This was the case 
with the squadron of dragoons also. After Major Da- 
veiss received his wound, knowing it to be mortal, I pro- 
moted Captain Parke to the majority, than whom there 
is no better officer. My two aids-de-camp, Majors Hurst and 
Ta}4or, with Lieutenant Adams, of the Fourth Regiment, 
the adjutant of the troops, afforded me the most essential 
aid, as well in the action as throughout the campaign. 

"The arrangements of Captain Piatt, in the quarter- 
master's department, were highly judicious ; and his exer- 
tions on all occasions — particularly in bringing off the 
wounded — deserve my warmest thanks. But, in giving 
merited praise to the living, let me not forget the gallant 
dead. Col. Abraham Owen, commandant of the Eighteenth 
Kentucky Regiment, joined me, a few days before the 
action, as a private in Captain Guiger's company. He 
accepted the appointment of volunteer aid-de-camp to me. 
He fell early in the action. The Representative of his State 
will inform you that she possessed not a better citizen, 
nor a braver man. Maj. J. H. Daveiss was known as an 
able lawyer and a great orator. He joined me as a private 
volunteer ; and, on the recommendations of the officers of 
that corps, was appointed to command the three troops 
of dragoons. His conduct, in that capacity, justified their 
choice. Never was there an officer possessed of more 
ardor and zeal to discharge his duties with propriety, 
and never one who would have encountered greater dan- 
ger to purchase military fame. Captain Baen, of the 
Fourth United States Regiment, was killed early in the 
action. He was unquestionably a good officer and a val- 
iant soldier. Captains Spencer and Warrick, and Lieu- 
tenants McMahan and Berry, were all my particular 
friends. I have ever had the utmost confidence in their 



66 



THE BATTLE OP TIPPECANOE. 



valor, and I was not deceived. Spencer was wounded in 
the head. He exhorted his men to fight valiantly. He 
was shot through both thighs and fell ; still continuing to 
encourage them, he was raised up, and received a ball 
through his body, which put an immediate end to his ex- 
istence. Warrick was shot immediately through the 
body. Being taken to the surgery to be dressed, as 
soon as it was over (being a man of great bodily vigor 
and able to walk) he insisted on going back to the head of 
his company, although it was evident that he had but few 
hours to live." 

The American loss in the engagement was thirty -seven 
killed and 151 wounded, of which twenty-five were mortal. 
Among the killed or mortally wounded were : Colonels 
Joseph Hamilton Daveiss and Abraham Owen ; Captains 
W. C. Baen, Spier Spencer and Jacob Warrick; Lieuten- 
ants Thomas Berry, Eichard McMahan, Thomas Randolph, 
Esq., and Col. Isaac White. 

Among the wounded were : Lieutenants Luke Decker 
and Joseph Bartholomew ; Dr. Edward Scull ; Adjutant 
James Hunter; Lieutenants George Gooding, George P. 
Peters ; Ensign Henry Burchstead ; Capt. John Norris and 
Capt. Frederic Guiger. 

The Indians engaged in this conflict have been variously 
estimated at from 350 to 1,000 warriors. The exact 
number can never be told. It is probable that it was 
about equal to that of the American army. Their loss 
was about the same as that of the whites, there being 
thirty-eight bodies found on the field after the battle. 
This fact, w T hen considered with the custom of the Indians 
to carry off their dead, indicates a heavy loss. 

The Prophet, during the battle, stationed himself 
upon a small point of elevated ground near by and 
chanted war songs to encourage his followers. He had 



TUB MTTLfl. 



predicted the crushing defeat of Harrison's army, and 
said that the bullets would leave the Indians unhurt. 
When, during the course of the battle, he was informed 
that some of his braves had been killed, he commanded 
the Indians to fight on, promising them an easy victory. 

The Indians, in this battle, were under the command 
of three chiefs, viz.: White-loon, Stone-eater andWinne- 
mac. The warriors had been gathered from many tribes, 
including the Shawnees,Wyandottes or Hurons, Kickapoos, 
Pottawatomies, Winnebagoes, Ottawas, Chippewas, Sacs 
and a few Miamis. 

This defeat caused the Indians to lose faith in The 
Prophet. The great majority of them returned to their 
tribes. The Prophet, for a time took refuge in a 
Wyandotte settlement on the Wild Cat creek ; he then 
went to Canada and remained under British protection 
for some time. But he afterward returned to Ohio and 
settled with the Shawnee Indians, and with that tribe 
removed to the Indian lands west of the Mississippi, 
where he died in 1834, having been a pensioner of the 
British government since 1813. 

The battle of Tippecanoe was fought contrary to the 
orders of Tecumseh, who, when he returned from. the 
South with his confederacy completed, found that all 
had been ruined by the folly of his brother. 

Tecumseh joined the British army in the War of 1812, 
and met his death in the battle of the Thames, October 
5, 1813. It is said that the bullet which killed him was 
fired by Col. Bichard M. Johnson, of Kentucky, who 
was afterward elected vice-president of the United States. 



CHAPTEE VI. 



IK the battle of Tippecanoe some of the American 
soldiers displayed great bravery and fearlessness. 
For example, a young man, the flint of whose gun 
was out of order, despite the earnest protest of his 
companions went to a fire, and by a light created, 
repaired it. In this work he was made, by the light, a 
target for the Indian bullets. Many shots were fir°ed at 
him, but he repaired his flint and returned to his post 
unharmed. The Indians, also, displayed exceptional 
bravery. Their fanaticism and superstition were worked 
to the highest pitch by The Prophet. In this battle the 
Indians abandoned their usual methods of firing, from 
behind trees and other protections, and rushed in'to the 
open field of the American camp. A Winnebago chief 
approached a fire, at a place where the American lines 
had been pushed back, to repair his flint. A number of 
shots were fired at him, one of which accomplished its 
deadly mission. The chief fell forward in the fire. A 
regular soldier of the United States army from New Eng- 
land went out to take his scalp, but, as the soldier was 
inexperienced in the business, it required considerable 
time for the completion of the job, and when he returned 
to the American lines from his barbarous errand he not 
only brought the scalp of the chief as a trophy, but also 
carried a mortal wound, inflicted by an Indian rifle. The 

69 



M TEE BATTLE OF TIPPECANOE. 

body of the chief was rescued by the Indians and carried 
into their town, where the American troops found it when 
they entered. 

During this fiercely fought and bloody conflict Gen- 
eral Harrison displayed great bravery and courage, moving 
about over the battlefield on horseback. He made able 
disposition of his forces, strengthening those parts of the 
lines where the Indian attack was severest. Though en- 
treated by his officers to refrain from exposing his person, 
he persisted in taking an active and open part in the 
engagement, doing much by word and example toward 
encouraging his men to remain firm under the galling fire 
in the darkness of the morning. 

A major, whose person and uniform resembled those 
of the general, was found by some of the men lying with 
face down in front of the lines, having been fatally shot. 
And as Harrison had shortly before been seen in that 
quarter of the field, the word soon spread along the line 
that the general had fallen. But Harrison presently ap- 
peared in that section of the field and allayed their fears, 
being received with loud huzzas. The person of the gen- 
eral was a special target for the Indian bullets. They 
conspired to assassinate him early in the battle. 

General Harrison had two horses. The one he usually 
rode was a white one. It was kept saddled and bridled 
during the night before the battle. The stake to which 
it was tied was pulled up and the animal hitched by a 
servant to the wheel of a wagon. When the attack was 
made this servant was so frightened that he could not 
remember where he had placed the horse. Major Taylor 
loaned General Harrison his horse. Early in the battle 
one of the general's aids, who rode a white horse, was shot, 
it is believed, by Indians who mistook him for Harrison. 
During the fight Harrison's hat rim was pierced and his 



INCIDENTS OF TEE BATTLE. 



71 



hair grazed by a rifle ball. The Indians chewed the bul- 
lets they used in this battle, that wounds created might 
be more lacerating. This partially accounts for the large 
mortality among the wounded. On the day of the battle 
the American army had no meat except boiled horse flesh. 
This day was spent in caring for the wounded, burying 
the dead and fortifying the camp. 

Upon the night previous to the engagement three 
Indians were found in the American camp. Whether they 
were there as spies, or, as is more probable, for the pur- 
pose of assassinating the general, is not known. They 
were seized and sent back to The Prophet with a demand 
of him for a negro, named Ben, who had deserted the 
American army under very suspicious circumstances. 
The negro had been employed as a bullock driver in the 
American army. When the force approached The 
Prophet's Town, he stated to his negro companions that 
he was not afraid to enter the Indian town. This they 
questioned, whereupon Ben started to prove his assertion. 
He was met by two Indians and conducted into camp. 
Some time after dark, Captain Wilson seized Ben while 
he was lurking near General Harrison's tent. The negro 
pleaded innocence of desertion ; he claimed that he was 
forcibly taken into the Indian town, and had been re- 
leased upon the return of the three Indians. He entered 
the American camp unchallenged by the sentinels. But 
the manner of the negro and the circumstances attending 
his capture by Captain Wilson, and the fact that no one 
had seen him in the camp prior to his capture, made it 
very probable that he was acting in the interest of the 
Indians. It was believed that he was reconnoitering in 
view to point out General Harrison's tent, that he might 
be assassinated. The fellow was tried on the same day of 
the battle by a drum-head court-martial A sentence of 



THE BATTLE OF TIPPECANOE. 



death was pronounced upon him. General Harrison, 
though he believed him to be guilty, was so much moved by 
pity that he could not find it in his heart to enforce the ver- 
dict. He referred the matter to his officers, who, after 
deliberation, agreed to release Ben from the death sen- 
tence. This result was brought about by the influence of 
Captain Snelling. The reasons for this lenity, explained 
by General Harrison in a letter to General Scott of 
Kentucky, do honor to his heart : 

" The fact was that I began to pity him, and I could 
not screw myself up to the point of giving the fatal 
order. If he had been out of my sight, he would have 
been executed. But when he was first taken, General 
Wells and Colonel Owen, who were old Indian fighters, as 
we had no irons to put on him, had secured him after the 
Indian fashion. This is done by throwing a person on 
his back, splitting a log and cutting notches in it to 
receive the ankles, then replacing the several parts, and 
compressing them together with forks driven over the 
log into the ground. The arms are extended and tied to 
stakes secured in the same manner. The situation of a 
person thus placed is about as uneasy as can possibly be 
conceived. The poor wretch thus confined lay before my 
fire, his face receiving the rain that occasionally fell, and 
his eyes constantly turned upon me, as if imploring 
mercy. I could not withstand the appeal, and I deter- 
mined to give him another chance for his life. I had all 
the commissioned officers assembled, and told them that 
his fate depended upon them. Some were for execut- 
ing him, and I believe that a majority would have 
been against him, but for the interference of the gallant 
Snelling. 

"'Brave comrades,' said he, 'let us save him. The 
wretch deserves to die; but as our commander, whose 



INCIDENTS OF THE BATTLE. 



73 



life was more particularly his object, is willing to spare 
him, let us also forgive him. I hope, at least, that every 
officer of the Fourth Eegiment will be on the side of 
mercy.' Snelling prevailed ; and Ben was brought to this 
place, where he was discharged." 

On the morning of the 8th, General Wells, in com- 
mand of a company of dragoons and mounted riflemen, re- 
connoitered The Prophet's Town. They found it deserted 
except by one chief, who remained because of a broken 
leg. The Americans dressed his injury and allowed him 
to return to his people. They told him that if the In- 
dians would desert The Prophet, their past conduct would 
be forgiven. Large quantities of corn and some hogs and 
domestic fowls were found, which were of great use to 
the army in its impoverished condition. After using such 
of these as were required, the remainder and a large 
number of brass kettles were destroyed, along with the 
town itself. 



MEANDERING RUN, BY WHICH HARRISON MARCHED OUT. 



CHAPTEK YIL 



gffejct of tfoe ^attXje. 

THE battle of Tippecanoe was the precursor of the War 
of 1812. It was a great struggle, in which civilization 
triumphed over barbarism. It was by far the greatest 
military engagement ever fought on Indiana soil. It 
effectually checked the Indian depredations in the North- 
west, and had it not been for the War of 1812, this check 
would have been a permanent cessation of hostilities. It 
broke Tecumseh's confederation into fragments. The 
calm that followed, however, was deceptive, preceding, 
as it did, the storm that broke forth on the northwestern 
frontier during the war which shortly followed. Tecum- 
seh revisited the tribes and assisted in forming an alliance 
of the British and Indians against the United States. But 
the defeat of his brother at Tippecanoe forever put at rest 
his dreams of a vast Indian empire. That battle, though 
national in its results, has been more particularly appreci- 
ated by the people of Indiana. No less than fifteen counties 
of that State have been named in honor of heroes who par- 
ticipated in that conflict. 

On the 9th of November General Harrison commenced 
his return march from the Tippecanoe battlefield. He 
traversed the same road over which he had approached 
The Prophet's Town, arriving at Fort Harrison on the 14th. 
The wounded, which up to this time had been hauled 
in wagons, were sent on to Vincennes by means of boats, 

75 



76 



THE BATTLE OF TIPPECANOE. 



Captain Snelling, with his company of regulars, was left in 
command at Fort Harrison, and the army continued its 
return march. The volunteers from Kentucky and south- 
eastern Indiana were discharged at Bosscron Creek on the 
17th. The remainder of the army arrived at Yincennes 
on the following day. 

The following preamble and resolution was adopted 
by the Territorial Legislature on the 18th of November : 

" Whereas, The services of His Excellency, Governor 
Harrison, in conducting the army, the gallant defense 
made by the band of heroes under his immediate command, 
and the fortunate result of the battle fought with the 
confederacy of the Shawnee Prophet, near Tippecanoe, 
on the morning of the Tth instant, highly deserve the 
congratulations of every true friend to the interests of 
this Territory and the cause of humanity : 

"Resolved, therefore, That the members of the Legisla- 
tive Council and House of Kepresentatives will wait 
upon His Excellency, Governor Harrison, as he returns to 
Yincennes, and, in their own names, and in those of their 
constituents, welcome him home, and that General W. 
J ohnston be, and he is hereby appointed, a committee to 
make the same known to the governor, at the head of the 
army, should unforeseen circumstances not prevent." 

Governor Harrison had been governor of the Indiana 
Territory since its organization, in the year 1800. He had 
been appointed to this post in pursuance of the wishes of 
the people of the Territory, successively, by Presidents 
Adams, Jefferson and Madison. His long and vigorous 
administration had created many enemies among the ter- 
ritorial inhabitants. His Indian policy, though perfectly 
justifiable, was the most prolific in this respect. Many 
persons had opposed the expedition against the town 
of Tippecanoe for humane reasons. Some of General 



EFFECT OF THE BATTLE. 



77 



Harrison's personal and political enemies were inclined to 
ascribe to Colonel Boyd the honor of having saved the 
army from defeat on the field of Tippecanoe. The fol- 
lowing address was prepared by the Legislative Council 
(the higher branch of the Legislature), and afterward 
adopted by the House of representatives by a vote of 
four to three. It was delivered to Governor Harrison, 
December 5, 1811 : 

" To His Excellency , William Henry Harrison , Governor 
and Commander-in-Chief in and over Indiana Territory : 
"When, in the course of human events, it becomes 
necessary for a nation to unsheath the sword in defense 
of any portion of its citizens, and any individual of society 
becomes intrusted with the important charge of leading 
the army of his country into the field to scourge the 
assailants of its rights ; and it is proved by the suc- 
cess of their arms, that the individual possesses superior 
capacity, accompanied by integrity and other qualities of 
the mind which adorn the human character in a superla- 
tive degree, it has a tendency to draw out the affections 
of the people in a way that must be grateful to the soldier 
and the man. Such is the light, sir, in which you have 
the honor to be viewed by your country, and one which 
the Legislative Council and House of representatives (of 
this Territory) think you justly entitled to. And, sir, 
in duly appreciating your services, we are perfectly 
sensible of the great benefits and important services 
rendered by the officers and soldiers of the United States 
infantry under your command ; and it is with pleasure we 
learn that the officers and militiamen of our country acted 
with a heroism more than could be reasonably calculated 
upon from men (such as they generally were) undisci- 
plined and unaccustomed to war." 



TEE BATTLE OF TIPPECANOE. 



On the 9th of December Governor Harrison sent the 
following reply to the foregoing address : 
" To the Legislative Council and House of Representatives : 

Fellow Citizens, — The joint address of the two 
houses, which w T as delivered to me on the 5th instant by 
your committee, was received with feelings which it is 
more easy for you to conceive than for me to describe. 
Be pleased to accept my sincerest thanks for the favora- 
ble sentiments you have been pleased to express of my 
conduct as the commander-in-chief of the expedition ; and 
be assured that the good opinion of the people of Indiana 
and their representatives will ever constitute no small por- 
tion of my happiness. If any thing could add to my 
gratitude to }^ou, gentlemen, it is the interest you take in 
the welfare of those brave fellows who fought under my 
command. Your memorial in their favor to the Congress 
of the United States does equal honor to the heads and 
hearts of those in whose name it is sent, and is worthy of 
the Legislature of the Indiana Territory." 

On the 4th of December the House of Representatives 
adopted the following resolutions : 

" Resolved, by the House of Representatives of Indiana 
Territory, That the thanks of this body be given to 
Col. John P. Boyd, the second in command, to the 
officers, non-commissioned officers, and private soldiers 
comprising the Fourth United States Regiment of 
infantry, together with all the United States troops 
under his command, for the distinguished regularity, 
coolness and undaunted valor, so eminently displayed 
by them in the late brilliant and glorious battle fought 
with the Shawnee Prophet and his confederates on the 
morning of the 7th of November, 1811, by the army under 
command of His Excellency, William Henry Harrison. 



EFFECT OF TEE BATTLE. 



79 



16 Resolved, That the said Col. John P. Boyd be re- 
quested to communicate the foregoing to the officers, non- 
commissioned officers, and privates belonging to the said 
Fourth Regiment, and that a copy of these resolutions, 
signed by the speaker of this House, be presented to the 
said Colonel Boyd by a committee of this House. 

" Resolved, by the Souse of Representatives of the 
Indiana Territory, That the thanks of this House be pre- 
sented to Col. Luke Decker and Col. Joseph Bartholomew, 
the officers, non-commissioned officers, and men composing 
the militia corps under their command, together with the 
officers, non-commissioned officers, and soldiers composing 
the volunteer militia corps from the State of Kentucky, 
for the distinguished valor, heroism and bravery displayed 
by them in the brilliant battle fought with the Shawnee 
Prophet and his confederates on the morning of the 7th 
of November, 1811, by the army under command of His 
Excellency, William Henry Harrison." 

The ^ following reply to these resolutions was sent to 
the House of Representatives by Colonel Boyd : 

" United States Troops, Main Quarters, 

Yincennes, December 4, 1811. 
" To the Honorable, the House of Representatives of 
the Indiana Territory : 

Gentlemen, — I have the honor, for myself, the offi- 
cers and soldiers comprising the Fourth United States 
Regiment, the rifle company attached, and the small 
detachment of Posey's company, to return you thanks 
for the distinguished notice you have been pleased to 
take of our conduct in the battle with the Shawnee 
Prophet and his confederates, on the morning of the 7th 
of November, 1811, by your resolution of this day. If 
our efforts in discharging our duties shall have resulted in 



so 



THE BATTLE OF TIPPEGANOE. 



advancing the public good, we are gratified ; and to be- 
lieve that we have merited this tribute of applause from 
the assembled representatives of this very respectable 
portion of our country, renders it peculiarly flattering to 
our honor and pride." 

Five days after the adoption of the resolutions ad- 
dressed to Colonel Boyd, General Harrison sent the fol- 
lowing message to the House of Representatives : 

" Gentlemen of the House of Representatives : Your 
speaker has transmitted to me two resolutions of your 
House, expressive of your thanks to Col. John P. Boyd 
and the officers and soldiers of the Fourth United States 
Regiment, to Colonels Bartholomew and Decker, and the 
officers and privates of the militia under their command, 
also to the Kentucky volunteers, for their bravery and 
good conduct in the action of the 7 th ultimo. It has 
excited my astonishment and deep regret to find that the 
mounted riflemen of the Territory, who so eminently 
distinguished themselves, and the squadron of dragoons, 
whose conduct was so highly meritorious, have on this 
occasion been totally neglected. I can not for a moment 
suppose, gentlemen, that you have any other wish than 
that of rendering impartial justice to all the corps. I can 
not belie j that you have the smallest tincture of that 
dispositioii,which certainly elsewhere prevails, to disparage 
the conduct of the militia, and to deprive them of their 
share of the laurels which have been so dearly purchased 
by the blood of some of our best and bravest citizens. 
No! I can never suppose that it was your intention to 
insult the shades of Spencer, McMahan and Berry, by 
treating with contempt the corps which their deaths have 
contributed to immortalize; nor will I believe that a 
Daveiss, a White, a Randolph and a Mahan, have been so 
soon forgotten, or that the corps to which they belonged 



EFFECT OF TEE BATTLE. 



81 



and which faithfully performed its duty, was deemed 
unworthy of your notice. The omission was certainly 
occasioned by a mistake, but it is a mistake by which, if 
not rectified, the feelings of a whole county, and part of 
another, now abounding with widows and orphans, the 
unhappy consequence of the late action, will be wounded 
and insulted. 

" The victory of the 7th ult., gentlemen, was not 
gained by any one corps, but by the efforts of all ; 
some of them, indeed,more particularly distinguished them- 
selves, and of this number was the United States Kegiment. 
In my official report to the secretary of war, I have men- 
tioned them in such terms of approbation, that if stronger 
are to be found in the English language, I am unac- 
quainted with them. But I have not given them all 
the honor of the victory. To have done so, I 
should have been guilty of a violence of truth, of 
justice, and of a species of treason against our Eepublic 
itself, whose peculiar and appropriate force is its militia. 
With equal pride and pleasure, then, do I pronounce that, 
notwithstanding the regular troops behaved as well as 
men ever did, many of the militia companies were in no 
wise inferior to them. Of this number were the mounted 
riflemen, commanded by Captain Spencer. Tv> hem was 
committed the charge of defending the right flank of the 
army. That it could not have been committed to better 
hands, their keeping their ground (indeed gaining upon 
the enemy) for an hour and a half with unequal arms 
against superior numbers, and amid a carnage that might 
have made veterans tremble, is sufficient evidence. Nor 
can I say that Captain Eobb's company, after it was 
placed by the side of Spencer's, was at all inferior 
to it. It is certain that they kept their post, and their 
great loss shows that it was the post of danger. The 



8£ 



THE BATTLE OF TIPPECANOE. 



dragoons also did everything that could have been expect- 
ed from them in the situation in which they were placed. 
Before they were mounted they certainly kept the enemy 
for a considerable time from entering the camp by the left 
flank; and when mounted, they remained firm at their posts, 
although exposed to the fire of the enemy at the time 
when they were necessarily inactive, and consequently 
placed in a situation most trying to troops. The failure 
of the charge made by Major Daveiss was owing to his 
having employed too small a number, but even with these, 
it is more than probable that he would have been success- 
ful, if he had not, unfortunately, mistaken the direction in 
which the principal part of the enemy lay. A successful 
charge was made by a detachment of the dragoons at 
the close of the action, and the enenw were driven into a 
swamp, in which they could not be followed. 

" You may, perhaps, gentlemen, suppose that I ought 
to have given you the information necessary to } T our form- 
ing a correct opinion of the merits of each corps. Mili- 
tary etiquette, however, and the custom of our country 
forbade this. It is to the Government of the United 
States alone that a detailed account of an action is made. 
In this communication I have given you such information 
only as was necessary to enable you to correct a mistake 
wmich I am sure was unintentional on } T our part. My 
sense of the merits of the other corps of the army will be 
known when my official account is published." 

The House of Kepresentatives referred Governor Harri- 
son's message to a committee, who reported the follow- 
ing answer, which the House adopted, on the 17th of 
December : 



EFFECT OF THE BATTLE. 



83 



" His Excellency, William Henry Harrison, Governor 

AND C OMM ANDER-IN-CHIEF OF THE INDIANA TERRITORY : 

Sir, — When this House addressed that portion of the 
troops to which you refer in your communication of the 9th 
inst., it was not the intention of this body to cast a shade 
over any portion of the troops that were under the com- 
mand of your Excellency in the late engagement ; nor to 
take from the commander-in-chief any of that honor 
which he so nobly acquired in the late victory. In the 
joint address of both houses to you, their notice of the 
militia in general terms was thought sufficient, as it was 
out of their power to notice every man who distinguished 
himself ; therefore it was considered that any evidence of 
respect paid to the commander-in-chief was an evidence of 
approbation of all. It is not to be supposed that those 
gentlemen, to whom it is supposed particular respect has 
been paid, have done any more than their duty, or that 
they distinguished themselves any more than private sol- 
diers. Those gentlemen who fell, some of them did well, 
and some others had not the opportunity, being killed too 
early in the battle. But there is not an individual in this 
body but acknowledges that it was a well-fought battle, 
and that praise is due, but they generally agree that the 
laurels won, principally, ought to be the property of the 
commander-in-chief." 

The Legislature of Kentucky passed the following 
resolution, notwithstanding the gloom which overspread 
the State by the untimely loss of some of her bravest and 
most gallant sons : 

" Resolved, That in the late campaign against 
the Indians on the Wabash, Gov. W. H. Harrison 
has, in the opinion of this Legislature, behaved like 
a hero, a patriot, and a general, and that for his cool, 



84 



THE BATTLE OF TIPPECANOE. 



deliberate, skillful and gallant conduct, in the late battle 
of Tippecanoe, he deserves the warmest thanks of the 
nation." 

The sense in which the Government regarded the 
importance of this victory is expressed, very emphatically, 
by President Madison in a message to Congress, Decem- 
ber 18, 1811 : 

" While it is deeply to be lamented that so many 
valuable lives have been lost in the action which took 
place on the 7th ult., Congress will see with satisfaction 
the dauntless spirit and fortitude victoriously displayed 
by every description of troops engaged, as well as the 
collected firmness which distinguished their commander, 
on the occasion requiring the utmost exertion of valor and 
discipline." 



CHAPTER YIII. 



HE field upon which the battle of Tippecanoe was 



J fought is located in Tippecanoe township, of Tippe- 
canoe county, seven miles north of the city of 
Lafayette, Ind. The land upon which the battle occurred 
is situated in sections twenty-three and twenty-six, town- 
ship twenty-four, range four west, and is embraced in a 
tract of 200 acres entered by John Tipton, November 13, 
1829. Mr. Tipton was a native of Tennessee, and enlisted 
in Governor Harrison's army as an ensign at Corydon, 
Ind. He was in the struggle of Tippecanoe, and after 
that battle received promotion for his valiant conduct. 

General Harrison buried his dead and burned logs 
over their graves to conceal the spot of interment. The 
Indians, however, found the place and disinterred the 
fallen brave. General Hopkins visited the battlefield 
the following year, gathered the scattered remains and 
replaced them in their graves. 

In the spring of 1830, the year following the Tipton 
purchase, a large meeting of survivors of the battle and 
other distinguished persons, among whom was General 
Harrison, was held upon the battlefield. The bones of 
the dead were collected and placed in one grave on the 
tract deeded by Tipton to the State on the 25th anniver- 
sary of the battle of Tippecanoe, November 7, 1836. This 
tract embraced sixteen and fifty-five hundredths acres 




TEE BATTLEFIELD. 



87 



(more or less). Shortly afterward it was inclosed by a 
rail fence. This spot has been a favorite place for 
holding great political gatherings. The whigs rallied 
there for three days during the " Tippecanoe and Tyler " 
campaign of 1840, and again in 1844, when Henry Clay 
was their standard bearer. In 1856 it was the scene of 
rival republican and democratic rallies. The latter was 
addressed by John C. Breckinridge, of Kentucky, then a 
candidate of his party for the vice-presidency. The 
campaign of 1888 revived the memories of Tippecanoe, 
and on October 17th and 18th a large republican rally 
was again held at the Battle Ground. 

The Indiana Constitutional Convention of 1851 made 
provisions for the preservation of the battlefield. Section 
10, of Article XY, of the Constitution, reads as follows : 

"Tippecanoe Battle Ground. It shall be the duty 
of the General Assembly to provide for the permanent 
inclosure and preservation of the Tippecanoe Battle 
Ground." 

This act of the constitutional convention was a great 
recognition of the importance of that historic field. In 
compliance therewith, it was soon afterward inclosed 
with a substantial board fence. 

By an act of the General Assembly, approved Decem- 
ber 18, 1872, the sum of $24,100 was appropriated to erect 
an iron fence around this famous field. This duty de- 
volved upon the governor, secretary, auditor and treas- 
urer of State, who accomplished the work in elegant style, 
using only about $18,000 of the amount placed at their 
command. The remaining $6,000 was returned to the 
State treasury. 

An act of March 7, 1887, provided $3,500 for repaint- 
ing the fence and necessary repairs. The act also appro- 
priated $300 annually thereafter, which sum is used as 



88 THE BATTLE OF TIPPECANOE. 

salary of custodian of the grounds and for needed repairs. 
The commissioners of Tippecanoe county were made the 
supervisors of this work, and have expended about $2,500 
of the amount appropriated. It is now proposed to 
erect a building upon the grounds, to be occupied by the 
custodian. 

A village was founded immediately north of the bat- 
tlefield, and bore the name of Harrisonville until the 
construction of the Lafayette, New Albany & Chicago 
Eailroad in 1853, when that place, with additions, was 
incorporated as Battle Ground City, which is now the 
home of about 500 souls. The place is noted in religious 
circles as the camp-meeting ground for the Northwest 
Indiana Conference of the Methodist Episcopal Church. 
Many religious meetings have been held there almost as 
strong, numerically, as the great political assemblies for 
which the site has been so noted in the past. 



CHAPTEE IX. 



AFTEE the close of Gen. William Henry Harrison's 
great campaign against the capital of the confed- 
eracy there followed a brief cessation of hostilities. 
The renown already won by the Hero of Tippecanoe was 
sufficient upon which to rest his fame, but subsequent 
events multiplied his victories and magnified the honor 
of his name. 

His life, from boyhood to old age, represents a pano- 
rama of activity, rich in civil, military and political hon- 
ors. He was born in a great age (February 9, 1773), 
and was merging into manhood before he departed from 
the scenes of his birth (Berkeley, Charles City county, 
Va.). The thrilling events of the war for indepen- 
dence and the organization of the national Government 
must have had a great effect upon his youthful mind, and, 
no doubt, did much to mold it for the patriotic services 
of his life. 

His father, Benjamin Harrison, signer of the Declara- 
tion of Independence, was in good circumstances, and gave 
his children the benefit of a good education, which the 
subject of this sketch received from the common schools 
of Yirginia and from Hampton Sydney College. From 
this institution he graduated. In accordance with the 
wishes of his father, he commenced the stud}^ of medicine 
under Dr. Benjamin Eush, of Philadelphia, who was also 

89 



90 



TEE BATTLE OF TIPPECANOE, 



a signer of the Declaration of Independence. In 1791 
his father died, leaving him under the guardianship 
of Eobert Morris, the distinguished financier of the 
Eevolution. 

Young Harrison determined upon a change of employ- 
ment, and upon the counsel of President "Washington 
joined the army in the Northwest. His guardian and 
most of his friends objected to this,believing his constitution 
not strong enough to stand the hardships of Indian warfare. 
Washington got him a position as ensign in.the First Eegi- 
ment of United States infantry, and with it he journeyed on 
foot across the mountains to Pittsburg and joined the army 
at Fort Washington (present site of Cincinnati) just after 
its defeat upon the Miami. Young Harrison, as a reward 
for meritorious conduct, was soon made a lieutenant. The 
Government sent another expedition against the Indians 
under the intrepid General Wayne, who, like his prede- 
cessor, General St. Clair, was of revolutionary renown. 
Wayne built Fort Eecovery upon the old battlefield where 
St. Clair had been worsted. At this place several skir- 
mishes occurred, in which young Harrison participated. 
The army marched from Fort Eecovery to the junction of 
the Auglaize and Maumee rivers, where Fort Wayne was 
erected. Near this place, upon the 20th of August, 1794, 
a hard-fought battle occurred. Two thousand Indian 
warriors were concealed in ambush when General Wayne 
came upon them. The battle was a telling victory for 
civilization over barbarism ; a triumph of intelligence over 
ignorance. It forced the Indians to cease their murderous 
depredations. For his conduct in this campaign Lieuten- 
ant Harrison was given a captaincy and the command of 
Fort Washington. 

Mr. Harrison was soon married to one of the daughters 
of John Cleves Symmes, one of the founders of the Miami 



TIPPECANOE IN POLITICS. 



91 



settlement, and upon a portion of whose land is now sit- 
uated Cincinnati. He was a man of strictly temperate 
habits. He saw the evil effects of liquor while in the 
army, and = set an example of total abstinence before his 
comrades. In 1791 he became a member of an abolition 
society in Virginia, the object of which was to better the 
condition of the slaves and secure their emancipation when 
that could be accomplished by legal means. 

Captain Harrison remained in command of Fort 
"Washington until April, 1798, when he resigned in order 
to accept the secretaryship of the Northwest Territory. 
In the following year he was chosen the delegate to 
Congress for the Northwest Territory, and attended one 
session. His labors proved to be of great value in the 
development of the vast territory which he represented. 
According to the law at that time the public domain 
could not be sold in tracts of less than 4,000 acres. 
Mr. Harrison secured the enactment of a law by which 
the public land was sold in alternate sections of 640 and 
320 acres ; this was not as much as he desired, but was 
all that could be obtained at that time. 

When the Northwest Territory was divided and the 
Territories of Ohio and Indiana erected, Mr. Harrison was 
appointed governor of the latter, and was subsequently re- 
appointed by Presidents Jefferson and Madison. This 
was before "rotation in office" came into style. In this 
position he remained for twelve years, from 1801 to 1813. 
In addition to this trust he was soon made governor of 
the Upper Louisiana Territory, so that he ruled with the 
power of a king over a vast domain. This power was 
never abused. He had innumerable opportunities for 
personal gain through his official capacity, but did not 
take advantage of them in any way. He negotiated 
treaties with the Indians during his gubernatorial term 




A BATTLE-SCARRED OAK. 



TIPPECANOE IN POLITICS. 



98 



and obtained for the Government more than 60,000,000 
acres of land over which civilization has since spread. 
No man did more for the advancement of our territorial 
development than Governor Harrison. His transactions 
were perfectly clean. Dishonesty in official capacity never 
entered his mind. A foreigner named Mcintosh accused 
him of defrauding the Indians in the treaty at Fort 
Way ne. Governor Harrison demanded that the charge be 
investigated by a court of justice. The court not only 
vindicated his honor but fined Mcintosh $4,000. This 
money was divided by Governor Harrison — one-third was 
given to the children of deceased soldiers and the remain- 
der returned to Mcintosh as an act of mercy. 

During his term as governor of Indiana Territory 
occurred the rise and overthrow of Tecumseh's confeder- 
acy, which is detailed in previous chapters. 

In 1812 Governor Harrison was given a command in 
the Kentucky militia, but was soon after made commander- 
in-chief of the United States Army of the Northwest. 
General Harrison was besieged in Fort Meigs early in 
1813 by Proctor. The assailants were compelled to raise 
the siege after it had been kept up by them for eight days. 
After this Harrison quartered himself at Sandusky Bay, 
where he remained until after Perry's victory upon Lake 
Erie. He then moved across the lake to attack Proctor 
and Tecumseh, who were then in command of a motley 
force of British and Indians at Fort Maiden. The enemy 
fled upon Harrison's approach, but were overtaken at the 
river Thames, where, on the 5th of October, 1813, a deci- 
sive American victory was won. The British troops were 
soon surrounded. Proctor escaped on horseback. The 
Indians fought bravely, but Tecumseh being shot, they 
fled in confusion. This battle terminated the war in the 
"West. After it, the command of General Harrison being 



94 



TEE BATTLE OF TIPPECANOE. 



limited by the secretary of war, General Armstrong, to 
the Eighth military district, he resigned and retired to his 
farm at North Bend, Ohio, to engage in the peaceful pur- 
suits of agriculture. Congress passed the following reso- 
lution, acknowledging the invaluable services of General 
Harrison : " Resolved \ by the Senate and House of Rep- 
resentatives of the United States of America in Congress 
assembled, That the thanks of Congress be and they are 
hereby presented to Major-general William Henry Harri- 
son and Isaac Shelby, late governor of Kentucky, and 
through them to the officers and men of their command, for 
their gallant and good conduct in defeating the combined 
British and Indian forces under Major-general Proctor, 
on the Thames in Upper Canada, on the fifth day of 
October, 1813, capturing the British army, with 
their baggage, camp equipage and artillery ; and, 
that the President of the United States be requested to 
cause two gold medals to be struck, emblematical of this 
triumph, and presented to General Harrison and Isaac 
Shelby, late governor of Kentucky." 

While General Harrison was governor of Indiana Terri- 
tory, he concluded thirteen treaties with various Indian 
tribes. In 1814 he was appointed, along with Governor 
Shelby, of Kentucky, and General Cass, to treat with the 
Indians. A new and important treaty was negotiated at 
Greenville, Ohio. In 1815 Mr. Harrison concluded an 
important treaty with nine Indian tribes at Detroit. 

In 1816 Harrison was elected by his district to fill a 
vacancy in the national House of Representatives. He was 
reelected to the next Congress, and in 1818 declined to 
be a candidate. 

In 1819 General Harrison was chosen a member of the 
Ohio State Senate, in which position Jie remained for 
two years. In 1824 he became one of the United States 



TIPPECANOE IN POLITICS. 



95 



Senators from Ohio. In this body he served his country 
as an able legislator for four years. In 1828 he was 
appointed by President Adams minister to the United 
States of Columbia, but was recalled upon the accession of 
President Jackson. 

When he returned home he retired to his farm at 
North Bend, Ohio, and devoted his attention to agricul- 
ture for about ten years. In 1836 he was the whig can- 
didate for president, but was defeated by Martin Yan 
Buren, the democratic candidate. The National Whig 
Convention assembled at Harris burg, Pa. December 5, 
1839, re-nominated General Harrison for president, along 
with John Tyler, of Yirginia, for vice-president. Presi- 
dent Yan Buren was a candidate for reelection. The 
whigs during this campaign cried: "Hurrah for Tip- 
pecanoe and Tyler, too ! " The fact that General 
Harrison had lived in a log cabin was alluded to as a 
reproach. They said he lived in a log cabin and had noth- 
ing but hard cider to drink. His friends were quick to 
take advantage of these remarks, and created a popular 
uprising in favor of their candidate. " Hard cider " 
became a party watchword. The campaign was distin- 
guished for long processions, of which log cabins formed an 
important feature. Harrison was elected by an over- 
whelming majority. The electoral vote was : Harrison, 
234 ; Yan Buren, 60. 

During this campaign, on the 29th, 30th and 31st days 
of May, 1840, a great rally was held on the site of the 
Battle Ground. It was attended by a vast concourse of 
people from every section of the Union and addressed by 
many able orators of the whig party. Cattle, hogs, sheep 
and fowls were slaughtered in large numbers. This was 
the largest political gathering held in Indiana up to that 
date. Enthusiasm was at fever height, and the rallying 
cry of the whigs echoed throughout the land. 



96 



THE BATTLE OF TIPPECANOE. 



General Harrison was inaugurated president on the 
4th of March, 1841. The oath of office was administered 
by Chief Justice Taney. Immediately after inauguration 
President Harrison was beset by a throng of office seek- 
ers, composed of political friends and supporters, whose 
desires he was anxious to gratify. He therefore gave 
himself up to incessant labor. The most important event 
of his brief administration was the calling, on March 17th, 
of an extra session of Congress to meet on the 31st of 
May, to consider the financial condition of the country. 
Mr. Harrison's administration was a short one, lasting but 
a single month. His final illness was of eight days' dura- 
tion, from which he was relieved by death upon the 4th 
of April, 1841, when entering upon the sixty-ninth year 
of his age. The vice-president, John Tyler, took the oath 
of office as president and entered upon his duties on the 
6th of the same month. Harrison's presidential term is 
the shortest in the history of our Government. He was 
the first man to die while performing the duties of that 
position. His last words were uttered when thinking he 
was addressing his successor. He said : " Sir, I wish you 
to understand the principles of the government. I wish 
them carried out. I ask nothing more." The grief pro- 
duced by this National calamity was great and profound. 
The funeral took place in Washington City on the 7th of 
April. Funeral ceremonies were also held in most of the 
cities and towns of the Union. The 14th of May was 
designated by President Tyler as one to be observed with 
fasting and prayer. The remains of President Harrison 
lie buried at his home, North Bend, fifteen miles west of 
Cincinnati. No monument or slab marks his resting-place, 
but history has built for him a more enduring monument 
than massive columns of marble or stone. 



CHAPTEE X. 



gfc Campaign of X888. 

THE precedent established by the American people in 
the early days of the Eepublic by the elevation of 
military heroes to the presidency, has been exempli- 
fied in many periods of our Nation's history. After Wash- 
ington, Andrew Jackson was the next notable hero of war 
to be called to the chief office in the Nation's power to 
bestow. Gen. William Henry Harrison responded to the 
same impulsive call, and later on, Gen. Zachary Taylor, 
and the world-famed Grant met the honors of the presi- 
dency. While some of these rulers were not statesmen of 
the highest rank, yet their distinguishments gained on the 
battlefield when the independence or preservation of the 
Union was at stake, were enough to honor and glorify, 
and the Nation was safe in the hands of such heroic 
defenders. 

The campaign of 1888 was one in which the achieve- 
ments of war played no unimportant part. While the 
great issues of that political contest were founded mainly 
upon civil questions, the custom of honoring the soldier 
was given renewed impetus by the naming of many for 
political leaders who served their country on the field of 
battle. 

Gen. Benjamin Harrison, the presidential candidate 
of the republican party in that campaign, though he per- 
formed well his part in the Civil War, and won enviable 

97 



98 



THE BATTLE OF TIPPECANOE. 



distinction, it may be said of him that his achievements 
are more extensive in civil affairs of the Government than 
in military pursuits. His nomination served to revive the 
memories of the campaign of 1840 and brighten the minds 
of Americans in history pertaining to the life and deeds of 
his illustrious grandfather. The field of Tippecanoe be- 
came, indeed, the Mecca of republican politics. Its inci- 
dents were reviewed in the press, and spoken from the 
stump, and the campaign of " Tippecanoe and Tyler, too," 
emulated in many respects. The year was noted for its 
many mammoth political gatherings and the great enthu- 
siasm which prevailed. President Cleveland was the can- 
didate of the democracy for reelection and Judge Allen 
G. Tlmrman, of Ohio, was the nominee for the vice- 
presidency. Hon. Levi P. Morton, of New York, was 
General Harrison's running mate. Interest in the tariff 
and other National issues grew more intense as the cam- 
paign neared the close. The city of Indianapolis, the 
home of General Harrison, presented an animated scene. 
Each day visitors thronged the Harrison mansion. Many 
and effective were the speeches delivered to the numerous 
delegations by their standard bearer. Harrison and Mor- 
ton carried every Northern State except New Jersey and 
Connecticut, and were triumphantly elected, receiving 
233 electoral votes out of a total of 401. 

To the honor of his ancestry General Harrison has 
added much by his ability and high character. He was born 
at North Bend, Hamilton county, Ohio, in the home of his 
grandfather, General William Henry Harrison, on the 20th 
of August, 1833. General Benjamin Harrison is the third in 
his line who has borne that name. He graduated with honor 
from Miami University,Oxford,Ohio,at the age of eighteen. 
He studied law with Hon. Bellamy Storer, in Cincinnati, 
and in 1854 removed to Indianapolis, and began his life 



GENERAL BENJAMIN HARRISON, 



100 



THE BATTLE OF TIPPECANOE. 



work. He soon demonstrated his ability, and came into 
public notice through an employment in a legislative in- 
vestigation by the then democratic governor of the State, 
Joseph A. Wright. His career as a lawyer from that 
time has been a brilliant professional success. He is 
a lawyer of preeminent qualities, and is regarded as one 
of the leaders of the Indiana bar. Being an ardent repub- 
lican and a speaker of the Lincoln campaign of 1860, he 
was the republican candidate for reporter of the supreme 
court, and was elected to that office on the ticket with 
Henry S. Lane and Oliver P. Morton. 

In July, 1862, President Lincoln issued a call for 300,- 
000 men, and Governor Morton requested General Harrison 
to assist in recruiting. Under a commission as second lieu- 
tenant he raised one company, was elected captain, and 
then others, until the Seventieth Kegiment was completed; 
he was then commissioned colonel, and took his regiment 
immediately into service in Kentucky and Tennessee. In 
the Atlanta campaign Colonel Harrison's command was 
assigned to Ward's brigade of the Third Division of the 
Twentieth Corps, and participated in the whole of that his- 
toric service, its commander receiving the highest honors 
as a soldier. On the 15th of June, 1864, Colonel Harri- 
son's regiment was assigned to lead the assault of Eesaca, 
and most gallantly did it do its work, capturing the ene- 
my's lines and four guns. At Peach Tree Creek Colonel 
Harrison was assigned to command the brigade, and gained 
such a signal victory as to call forth praise and commen- 
dation from his superior officers. 

In 1864 General Harrison was reelected reporter of 
the supreme court of Indiana. At the expiration of his 
term of office he returned to the practice of law, bearing 
his full part, however, in all the political campaigns that 
intervened. In 1876 he declined the use of his name as 



THE CAMPAIGN OF 1888. 



101 



a nominee for governor, but Mr. Orth having resigned 
from the ticket in the midst of the campaign, the repub- 
lican central committee, in deference to the universal de- 
mand of the party, nominated General Harrison to the 
vacancy, but he was defeated by James D. Williams. 

In 1880 the republicans carried the State and the 
Legislature, and in acknowledgment of the services of Gen- 
eral Harrison, and his recognized leadership of the party, 
he was elected United States senator. At the expiration 
of his term as United States senator, he was confronted 
with the most remarkable odds and defeated in his con- 
test for reelection by Hon. David Turpie, who received 
a majority of two votes, although the republican State 
ticket received a plurality of 3,500 and the aggregate 
majority on their legislative candidates reached nearly 
10,000. 

Gen. Benjamin Harrison is in the prime of life, and in 
full vigor of both body and mind. He is a christian man 
of the & best type ; a citizen of notable integrity of char- 
acter ; a man of clean life and reputation ; a model hus- 
band and father ; indeed, an American without fear and 
without reproach ; one in every way worthy the mantle 
of his illustrious and honored ancestor, the hero of 
" The Battle of Tippecanoe." 



THE END. 



102 * 



